Irak 155

De nieuwe Amerikaanse militaire tactiek om elk Irakees verzet te onderdrukken, is gebaseerd op het alles vernietigende offensief in Fallujah, waarbij geen enkel onderscheid werd gemaakt tussen burgers en strijders. Deze manier van oorlogsvoering, gefundeerd op het massaal plegen van oorlogsmisdaden, hebben de Amerikanen weer van de Israelische strijdkrachten geleerd. Nadat ik in 2002 vergeefs geprobeerd had Jenin binnen te komen, las ik in de Israelische kranten dat net een Amerikaanse legerdelegatie was gearriveerd die de Israelische bevindingen bestudeerde van het oorlogvoeren in stedelijk gebied.

De World Socialist Web Site bericht:

'US offensive in Baghdad begins surge of killing and repression.
By James Cogan12 January 2007

The escalation of the Iraq war that was outlined by US President Bush on Wednesday night is already well underway. Beginning last Saturday, Iraqi government and US forces have pursued an operation to dislodge anti-occupation resistance fighters from Haifa Street—a major thoroughfare in the heart of Baghdad that follows the west bank of the Tigris River and leads into the “Green Zone” area where the US embassy and offices of the Iraqi government are housed.
A full offensive into the district was carried out on Tuesday. What followed makes clear that the “surge” of US and Iraqi government troops into Baghdad is a prescription for mass killing and repression.
Haifa is a predominantly Sunni Arab neighourhood and the street itself is lined with high-rise offices and the apartments and homes of former public servants and army officers of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, who were deprived of their jobs and social position by the US invasion. The poorer, working class backstreets have been described by American troops as a “labyrinth” of winding alleys and crumbling homes, and a “perfect place for insurgents who need cover”.
As armed resistance to the US occupation grew throughout 2003, the area became known as one of the most dangerous in Baghdad. While repeated raids have been made and hundreds of locals killed or detained, the US military has thus far failed to terrorise the populace into submission. As soon as American forces have withdrawn from the area, guerilla cells have reformed and resumed their insurgency.
The current operation in Haifa Street, in line with the broader aim of Bush’s surge, is aimed at using overwhelming force to finally suppress opposition. After three days of probing by poorly equipped Iraqi forces—which appear to have been mainly used as cannon fodder to determine the location of insurgents—American troops in Stryker armoured vehicles, supported by F-18 fighter-bombers and Apache helicopter gunships, spearheaded a dawn assault.
Some 1,000 troops were used to secure less than two kilometres of the thoroughfare. Resistance began immediately after US and government forces seized Tala’a Square at the northern end of Haifa Street and began moving south, smashing into homes and offices on both sides of the road and searching for alleged insurgents. By 6:30 a.m., they were being engaged by Iraqi fighters equipped with only small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
The tactics employed by the American commanders against the Iraqi resistance provide a glimpse of what will be carried on a far greater scale as US forces implement Bush’s new plan. American troops made no attempt to storm buildings from which they were taking fire. Instead—in the middle of an urban area where civilians were given no warning of an assault—helicopter gunships and Strykers raked offices and houses with heavy machine guns, while alleged insurgent firing positions were blown apart by Hellcat missiles fired from the air or by anti-tank missiles and grenades launched from the ground.'

Lees verder: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/iraq-j12.shtml

En nu opletten hoe lang het zal duren voordat de Nederlandse commerciele massamedia ontdekken dat er op grote schaal oorlogsmisdaden worden gepleegd door onze NAVO-bondgenoot! Ik vermoed pas nadat de Amerikaanse kranten erover gaan berichten, maar wie weet, misschien gaan ze dit keer wat beter hun huiswerk doen.