Congressman Mike Pence's comment about how al-Shorja market was like something in Indiana was an absolutely ridiculous comment. The military's plan to divide Baghdad into secure zones goes beyond the empty rhetoric of a deluded Republican from Indiana. The excellent reporting of Robert Fisk exposes the plan that has failed in the past for our military among others, and what the new troop placements mean for our foreign policy in the region.
From The UK Independent:
The campaign of "gated communities" - whose genesis was in the Vietnam War - will involve up to 30 of the city's 89 official districts and will be the most ambitious counter-insurgency programme yet mounted by the US in Iraq.The system has been used - and has spectacularly failed - in the past, and its inauguration in Iraq is as much a sign of American desperation at the country's continued descent into civil conflict as it is of US determination to "win" the war against an Iraqi insurgency that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops. The system of "gating" areas under foreign occupation failed during the French war against FLN insurgents in Algeria and again during the American war in Vietnam. Israel has employed similar practices during its occupation of Palestinian territory - again, with little success.
But the campaign has far wider military ambitions than the pacification of Baghdad. It now appears that the US military intends to place as many as five mechanised brigades - comprising about 40,000 men - south and east of Baghdad, at least three of them positioned between the capital and the Iranian border. This would present Iran with a powerful - and potentially aggressive - American military force close to its border in the event of a US or Israeli military strike against its nuclear facilities later this year.
The "genius" behind this plan is none other than General David Petraeus. Why the general would implement this experiment in Baghdad is beyond me. The 'divide and conquer' tactic has never worked in the past and it will not here in the present. The common sense approach would be to pull out and deal with the situation diplomatically, but common sense has no place in the Bush Administration and those that serve at the President's pleasure.
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