'Collateral Damage'

De Amerikaanse hoogleraar Michael Schwartz schrijft: 'The New Iraq War Strategy: More Bombings, More Civilian Deaths, Less Likelihood of Success. Commentary on Seymour Hersh's 'Up in the Air. Seymour Hersh’s latest article in the New Yorker is over a month old by now, and therefore would seem a little like old news. But, like so much of his reporting, Hersh’s article contains at least a few nuggets that ripen with time and take on more importance as events play out in Iraq. Two of his key points – one central to the article, the other almost an afterthought – are of particular importance, and worth reviewing as the Iraqis endure yet another chapter in the American effort to crush the resistance. The first of these key themes is the one that was most prominently commented upon. Hersh broke the story – which is now all over the mainstream press – that the U.S. is going to try a new military strategy in Iraq: more intensive air power and less intensive foot patrols. This will involve fewer U.S. offensive operations (like those in western Anbar that involved evacuating whole cities), increased use of Iraqi armed forces in high-resistance areas, and a massive increase in the use of aerial attacks. In the short time since Hersh wrote the article, this new policy has been aggressively enacted. The Washington Post, quoting U.S. military sources, reported that the number of U.S. air strikes increased from an average of 25 per month during the Summer, to 62 in September, 122 in October, and 120 in November. There are several aspects to this new strategy that we need to keep in mind. First, this is an attempt to lessen the strain on U.S. troops – the U.S. military in Iraq is in grave danger of collapsing, as it did in Vietnam. So the new strategy seeks to reduce the number of patrols (which are the most grueling and dangerous missions American soldiers undertake) and compensate with more air raids. The hope is that this switch in emphasis will make it possible for U.S. troops to endure more tours of duty in Iraq. But probably this won’t work. Here is what one military officer told Hersh: "if the President decides to stay the present course in Iraq some troops would be compelled to serve fourth and fifth tours of combat by 2007 and 2008, which could have serious consequences for morale and competency levels."' Lees verder: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/schwartz1.html Het resultaat van de nieuwe Amerikaanse militaire strategie is onmiddellijk merkbaar door nog meer zogeheten 'collateral damage.' Al Jazeera bericht: 'US air attack has killed 14 members of one family in the oil-refining town of Baiji in northern Iraq. An Iraqi security force spokesman for the Joint Coordination Centre, which handles information and is a liaison between US and Iraqi forces, said that the Tuesday air raid destroyed one house, killing the people inside. Another four houses were hit and three people were wounded in the raid on Monday night, he said. "We have this information from the Iraqi police and army in Baiji," said the spokesman, who declined to give his name. The US military had no immediate comment.' Zie: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ADA709C4-E277-47A5-939D-DDDA2EEF0CAA.htm