Guerrilla Warfare, Freedom Fighters, Insurgents, Terrorists, et al

The “raiding” that is being employed in Iraq has been a topic of criticism of late. Not by American media, ironically (or perhaps not), but by Iraqi citizens themselves. The operations being prosecuted in the Sunni Triangle are following a simple precept: Arabs are motivated by greed and humiliation. They are, by and large, emotional human beings whose spirit and drive swings quicker than the mood of a menstrual woman. When the armed forces got as much as they could through the appeal of easy money, they switched tactics. During recent events, where property was “disposed of”, it became a tactic that addressed BOTH greed and humiliation. Now, it is openly recognized that this tactic can either leave them feeling defeated or raise their ire to a fevered pitch. In either case, rational, calculated thought goes right out the window...and the resulting mistakes mean victory for the troops.

I can’t count how many times I have said that the administration's understanding of the culture of these people is feckless? This is a simple illustration of that, is it not? Even I can see that these actions have the potential to further bolster the indignity of the people. The problem is that while everyone screams that this is a terrible and awful way of prosecuting an operation, no one is coming to the table with an effective alternative.

But these “decent people” (as they’ve been deemed) are, by and large, simple-minded people of the same ilk regularly recruited to sacrifice their lives for the sake of honor. And while I'm chiefly referring to militants and terrorists, I contend it applies to members of the armed forces of any country. And while they are away from their families they do unspeakable things that even their closest family will never know.

To the defenders of those “decent people”, I say “Don't be naive.” Those people of Tikrit are just as capable as anyone of being the next suicide bomber that kills tens, hundreds, or thousands of people. In fact, they represent the typical profile. Under-privileged. Uneducated. Disenfranchised. Suffering from poverty of dignity. Moreover, the Arab terrorist is pathologically jealous. Internally they feel unredeemable, except through acts of self-sacrifice.

I'm sick of hearing the expression "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". It's bullshit and blurs the line of what little morality there may be in open, armed conflict (a.k.a. WAR). While I don't support the guerillas in the article below, I don't classify them as terrorists. They clearly target military forces and not civilians. Make no mistake, however, they are combatants and, as such, are not protected as civilians under the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, if coalition forces are raiding homes of engineers, wholesalers, and retired generals, then by Jove, they're on the right track.

This is war. It isn't over. No one said it was over. Bush said there was an end to major combat operations (defined as company-sized (or greater) conflicts between opposing forces). That's not an end to the war. You can look for two indicators for the war to be over; the release of all prisoners of war and the replacement of the occupying force with a peacekeeping force. Those things will define the war's end regardless of the return of Iraqi sovereignty. No, I contend that the condition that exists in Iraq is akin to Martial Law, and by definition certain civil liberties are superceded until common law is in force. And they haven’t earned that right, yet.

(Take note of the surprise of the family at the admission of complicity by one of the people being interviewed. How could they not know?)
AP: Iraqis Say Saddam Not Leading Attacks