Commentary

Iraqi Resistance Throws U.S. Battle Plan into Disarray

The U.S. battle plan in Iraq was drawn up by U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his cronies in the Bush administration. It relied heavily on an assessment that the Iraqi government would crumble after a couple of days of "shock and awe" bombings, that the Iraqi army would refuse to fight and that the southern Shiite population would rise up and embrace the invading U.S. and British forces. Despite Rumsfeld's repeated assurances that his battle plan is "brilliant" and advancing as anticipated, there is extensive evidence that it is in complete disarray and that the U.S. military is being forced to change it

After two days of unopposed advance across the Iraqi desert, U.S. and British forces ran into determined Iraqi resistance in literally every urban district on the road to Baghdad. For the past week the British forces have been fought to a standstill outside Basra, while the American advance has not only stalled, but been driven back in some areas. Not a single strategic military objective has been achieved by the Anglo-American forces, and they have not yet even engaged the main Iraqi Republican Guard forces. To date, the forces that have fought the invaders to a standstill have been the regular Iraqi armed forces, the militia and armed civilians.

The much vaunted U.S. "shock and awe" campaign has inspired nothing but anger in the Iraqi people and has totally failed to disrupt the ability of the Iraqi government and military to function and communicate. In just over one week the U.S. has already used up 25 percent of its stockpiles of cruise missiles and other precision bombs, with nothing to show for it except the repeated destruction of long-deserted government buildings.

It is now the turn of the Anglo-Americans to be shocked and awed by the fierceness of the Iraqi resistance. As their military losses mount rapidly - over 100 killed or missing, hundreds more wounded, hundreds of tanks and armoured personel carriers destroyed or disabled, several helicopters and fighter planes shot down - the Americans have been forced to admit that the expectation of quick victory is rapidly slipping through their fingers.

One sign that the U.S. battle plan is changing is the increasing targetting of civilian targets. After a week of relatively light civilian casualties, during the past several days U.S. bombs and missiles have been falling on market places, schools and residential areas, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians. In Basra on Friday, British forces destroyed a warehouse full of over 75,000 tons of food. They have also cut off water and electricity to the city. Despite repeated assurances that these attacks on civilian targets have been "accidental", it is becoming clear that this is a lie designed to deflect the outrage of the world's people.

Through their resistance the Iraqi people have demonstrated that they have no desire to be "liberated" by the Americans and British. In response, the aggressors are now dropping the facade of a "humane war" and attempting to bomb the Iraqi people into submission. This represents a moral and political defeat for the Anglo-American forces.