The Fog of War

_____ Fog of War ____

Events in Iraq are unfolding the same way they have been for almost a year – dizzying yet familiar in that nothing is a surprising anymore. Though the headlines are fading, but the fog of war has yet to lift from this ancient land. American troops are still dying at a rate of about one a day, which is a bit lower than it was over the summer before the Army devised tactics to counter urban ambushes and the infamous “improvised explosives.” Helicopters are now flying more erratic routes to avoid surface-to-air missiles. Though the death of any man is tragic, this is not what should worry us. What should worry us is the growing prospect of civil war in Iraq – and that’s seems precisely the aim of the insurgents.

Because American targets are becoming harder to hit, the new Iraqi police have become cannon fodder to the nihilistic insurgents. In one week in February, at least 150 Iraqi police died in car bombings. The intent is clear: minimize the raw numbers and morale of the American proxies once sovereignty is allegedly restored this July and troops begin pulling out of urban areas.

Once we begin urban withdrawal, these men will be doing our bidding on the streets of Baghdad – fighting terrorist and crooks alike. These men will be the protectors of the Governing Council; American GI’s will try to act only as backup. It would seem the larger strategy is to force an American withdrawal under fire. They intend to do this by sucking us back into the cities or to become actors in a civil war to play the part of the neo-colonialist that never intends to leave. We cannot win with that role.

Let us not forget the historical example Al Qaeda & Co. intends to follow – the Mujahideen resistance in Afghanistan. There they patiently brought a superpower to its knees and sparked the collapse of an entire empire. That was on the Soviet’s own border, we are half a world away. This prospect should scare Republicans and Democrats, friend and French alike. It is time that both parties put resources and minds together to create a serious but flexible exit strategy from Iraq.

We must not overreact and play into their plans, but we must not retreat because we are under fire. By reacting the way they want us to, staying because they are still violent, we are playing into their plans. This is precisely the endless conundrum the Israeli's are in. If American GI’s are still patrolling the streets of Baghdad two years from now, we will have lost this battle in the Terror Wars. If American GI’s are still patrolling the streets of Baghdad five years from now, we will have already lost the War.

Tags: Treyopia Spinnaker Current Events Bush Iraq Quagmire Terrorism