Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2007)
PAGE 8 “Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity — and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge This begins with addressing Iran and Syria These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out o f Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow o f support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq..." * PETER 0. I ZIERLEIN PARSING THE SURGE FROM PAGE since left the country to flee the violence and have set up new lives elsewhere. Regarding constitutional reform, there is little hope at this point that the flawed U.S.-organized constitutional process can overcome its current deadlock. “America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works to meet these benchmarks. In keeping with the recommendations o f the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding o f American advisers in Iraqi Army units — and partner a Coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better equipped Army — and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, frhich remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq..." The U.S. spent much of 2006 training Iraqi troops, having trained an additional 100,000 forces, yet there was an increase in violence. And while there has been training of troops, there has been a severe lack of equipment provided to the Iraqi forces Bush does not acknowledge the root of the problem with the Iraqi forces — their sectarian allegiances Without allegiance to Iraqi government, there is little evidence that these forces can be effective. “We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexi bility to spend funds for economic assistance We will double the number o f Provincial Reconstruction Teams. These teams bring together military and civilian experts to help Iraqi communities pursue reconciliation, strengthen moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi self-reliance And Secretary (of State Condo- leezzajRice will soon appoint a reconstruction coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance being spent in Iraq..." Having spent more than $20 billion on reconstruction projects, the United States has little to show for its efforts. Levels of electricity, water, sewage, and unemployment have remained virtually unchanged over the past nearly four years Oversight of projects has been sorely needed and should help prevent the problems of waste, fraud, and abuse but it will not change the concept and design of these programs which have been unsuccessful in reconstructing Iraq. 7 While al-Qaida is stronger in Anbar than other provinces it still constitutes only a tiny minority of the insurgency there. Most of the insurgency in Anbar consists of homegrown Sunni Islamists, tribal groups, Baathists, and other nationalists. The U.S. military estimates that foreign fighters represents barely 5% of the insurgency. The overwhelming majority of those fighting in Anbar have no desire to build a radical Islamic empire or attack the United States. They want to rid their country of foreign occupation forces and oust a government they see as repressive, corrupt, and too closely aligned with their Persian and American enemies. The majority of insurgents unaffiliated with al-Qaida would likely put down their arms and join a broad coalition government in return for amnesty and a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal, options the Bush administration has rejected. “Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al-Qaida leaders— and protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal leaders have begun to show their willingness to take on al-Qaida. As a result, our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops..." The tactics and ideology of al-Qaida has indeed alien ated large numbers of Iraqis, but that does not mean it would support the presence of American forces in Anbar or end its attacks against them, particularly if the number of U.S. troops increases. “These troops will work with Iraqi and tribal forces to step up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and women in uniform took away al-Qaida's safe haven in Afghanistan — and we will not allow them to reestablish it in Iraq..." By sending American troops to Iraq, the Bush adminis tration has allowed al-Qaida not only to establish a base in Iraq, but to greatly expand its forces and sympathizers throughout the Islamic world. By sending even more troops into Iraq, al-Qaida will likely grow even stronger. “As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al-Qaida and foreign fighters Al-Qaida is still active in Iraq. Its home base is Anbar Province Al-Qaida has helped make Anbar the most violent area o f Iraq outside the capital A captured al- Qaida docurhent describes the terrorists’ plan to infiltrate and seize control of the province. This would bring al-Qaida closer to goals of taking down Iraq’s democracy, building a radical Islamic empire, and launching new attacks on the United States at home and abroad ." The idea that the Shiite government of Iran is providing material support for the insurgency against U.S. forces is ludi crous. It is apparently yet another of a series of false allegations leveled by the administration against Iran as part of an effort to justify possible future military action against that country. What Iran has done, however, is to actively support Shiite militias within the Iraqi government. For example, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr was trained by Iran’s infamous Revolutionary Guards and later served as a leader of the Badr Brigade, the militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Ameri cans have also trained Interior Ministry police and commandos and has effectively allied with Iran in supporting Shiite extremists in an effort to suppress Sunni insurgents. In other words, Iran is not backing the insurgency fighting U.S. forces but is backing elements of the same government supported by the United States. Claims of active Syrian support for the insurgents are also grossly exaggerated. The ruling Baath Party of Syria long opposed what have become the two main elements of the insurgency: Saddam’s Iraqi wing of the Baath Party and the radical Sunni Islamist groups (which have also challenged the regime in Damascus). While foreign fighters supporting the insurgency have slipped through the long poorly demarcated desert border between the two countries, the Bush administra tion has not presented any convincing evidence that the Syrian government is actively encouraging or facilitating such activity. By promising to “seek out and destroy" those allegedly support ing the insurgency, President Bush may be preparing a pretext to expand the war into neighboring countries, as previous Presi dents expanded the Vietnam War in Laos and Cambodia. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has rejected the Baker/Hamilton Commission’s key recommendation to engage diplomatically with Syria and Iran in order to help stabilize the region. “We are also taking steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment o f an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence sharing — and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies..." It's unclear how sailing an additional aircraft carrier strike group into the Persian Gulf will contribute to stabilizing the violent chaos in Iraq's cities. Instead, this could be part of preparations for U.S. military strikes on Iran. Similarly, given that the Iraq insurgency does not have any intermediate or long-range missile capacity, the deployment of Patriot air defense systems doesn’t seem to make sense either. This may be part of a preparation to defend against Syrian or Iranian counter-attacks in the event of U.S. strikes on those countries. Or it might simply be another boondoggle for U.S. arms merchants. The most the United States could do to reassure its allies in the region is to stop engaging in provocative military operations that result in an extremist backlash. “We will work with the governments o f Turkey and Iraq and help them resolve problems along their border. ." This will be tricky, to say the least. Thanks largely to a series of U.S. policies the Baghdad government essentially has no control over its border with Turkey or anywhere in the Kurdish dominated northern part of its country. The quasi independent status of Iraqi Kurdistan has emboldened ethnic Kurds in southeastern Turkey to renew their struggle for autonomy and independence and has provoked the Turkish government to renew its counter-insurgency efforts and political repression, including incursions into Iraqi territory. Meanwhile, the ethnic Turk minority in northern Iraq is feeling increasing persecution as well from U.S.-backed Kurdish militias. If U.S. diplomacy continues to be as inept as it has been elsewhere in the region, the Iraqi-Turkish border region could deteriorate into full-scale war. “And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gain ing nuclear weapons and dominating the region..." It is the United States, which already deploys nuclear weapons on its planes and ships, that currently dominates the region and will continue to do so whether the Iranians or anyone else likes it or not. If indeed, Iran does harbor nuclear weapons ambitions, such weapons are presumably designed to deter possible American and Israeli attacks. Iran witnessed U.S. forces invade its immediate neighbors to the east and west: Afghanis tan and Iraq. With repeated threats by the U.S. government to attack Iran as well, it is not unreasonable to appreciate why that country might desire a nuclear deterrent. Finally, despite pledges to “work with others,” the Bush administration has certainly not abandoned its willingness to challenge Iran unilaterally. VA N PU5EN BEVERAGES ASTORIA, OREGON 325-2382 HOPE L. HARRIS LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPIST THE COMPLEAT PHOTOGRAPHER 475 14TH ST., ASTORIA & 303 S. HOLLADAY, SEASIDE 325-0759 736-3686 CANNON BEACH (503) 436-0549 5 0 3 /3 2 5 -2 5 2 3
