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Sidewinder on the hunt in
Iraq
By Valentinas Mite
PRAGUE -
The United States military is continuing Operation
Sidewinder in Iraq in an effort to eliminate insurgents
and remnants of the former regime of Saddam Hussein,
with at least 319 Iraqis detained in several operations
across the country in the past few days, including a
colonel from the Ba'ath Party.
It is not the
first military operation aimed at stopping armed
resistance in Iraq, but attacks on US and British troops
continue, and soldiers are being killed in and outside
the capital, Baghdad. The US military blames so-called
"remnants of the regime" for the attacks.
Twenty-four US soldiers have been killed by
hostile fire since US President George W Bush announced
an end to major fighting in Iraq on May 1. The military
said on June 28 that they had found the remains of two
soldiers who had been missing. US Army spokesman Major
Sean Gibson said, "Coalition forces today recovered the
remains of two United States Army soldiers who had been
missing since June 25. They were recovered from an area
about 25 miles northwest of Baghdad and have been
positively identified." In the latest attack, one Iraqi
civilian was killed and two US soldiers were wounded by
an explosion that targeted a convoy in Baghdad on
Monday.
However, the problems the US is facing
in Iraq seem to be bigger than just the resistance of
Saddam's supporters. Neil Partrick is an analyst with
the Middle East and Africa section of the Economist
Intelligence Unit in London. He agreed that Saddam
loyalists are fighting US troops, especially in the
Sunni areas north of Baghdad. But he said that these
loyalists are not the only ones engaging troops.
"There's some evidence that some Islamist groups
are forming in some instances tactical alliances with
remnants of the former regime or simply acting on their
own. And also, of course, we have the tribal factor,
which means there are a number of tribes who were armed
by the regime in the couple of years or so preceding the
fall of it and these tribes indeed may be providing
protection for some senior regime figures - even
possibly Saddam himself."
Partrick said
resistance coming from the tribes may have nothing to do
with loyalty to Saddam. He says that sometimes it is
simply tribal pride that sets off an attack. For
instance, tribesmen consider it a humiliation to be
disarmed. Carrying a weapon is a matter of pride.
Partrick said the disarming of tribesmen was one of the
reasons behind the attack that killed six British
soldiers in southern Iraq last week.
Partrick
said that the situation in the Sunni areas near Baghdad
might be less tense if US troops did more to understand
and respect tribal customs. He says US forces must
negotiate more with tribal leaders in such explosive
places - in al-Fallujah, for example. Partrick added
that even Saddam's arrest would be unlikely to end all
the problems that US forces are experiencing in the
country.
"But at the same time, it's still very
important - I think the US recognizes this - to work
with local leaderships. I mean, in some instances in the
areas that have shown resistance, their policies have
been misguided and they haven't fully understood the
need to work with local leaders. And some of these
forces may resist, even if Saddam Hussein is arrested."
However, Partrick said that Saddam's capture
would dispel the fear still felt by many Iraqis that the
former leader will eventually return. On Monday, the
head of the US-led administration in Iraq, L Paul
Bremer, pledged that American troops will find Saddam -
dead or alive.
A more burning issue than his
fate, however, is restoring law and order in the
country. Julian Lindley-French is an expert on US
security studies at the Geneva Center for Security
Policy, a think tank associated with NATO's Partnership
for Peace program. He says that restoration of all major
services is one of the main tasks facing the coalition
in Iraq. However, he says part of the problem is that
services haven't been restored due to sabotage. "It is a
dilemma and almost a tragic irony that the Americans in
particular are being blamed for everything, much of
which is not their fault."
People in Iraq
angrily speak about the lack of law and order,
electricity cuts, lack of clean water and traffic jams
in the capital. They say that it is unsafe for children
to go to school and for women to go shopping. People
don't talk about "liberation" but refer to the American
presence as an "occupation".
Some Shi'ite and
Sunni clerics are preaching against the "occupation"
during Friday prayers. Political parties, opponents of
the former regime, criticize the American civil
administration for the delays in the formation of the
Iraqi government.
Muhammad Abdel Jabar is an
organizer of a new political party in Iraq called For
Reconstruction and Democracy. He agrees that
dissatisfaction with daily life in Baghdad is growing,
but said that it is too early to speak about a
widespread revolt against the Americans "at the moment".
He said, "It is true that the economic situation is
deteriorating indeed and not getting better. It's true
that the normal Iraqi people are suffering from this
very severe situation. But I wouldn't say that in this
situation, in this stage, that this difficult situation
might push the Iraqi people to be involved in a military
resistance, the anti-American military resistance in
Iraq. It's too early to speculate on this point."
Meanwhile, the US military command says that it
is confident the progress achieved by toppling Saddam
will not slip away. US General Tommy Franks, who was in
charge of the US-led invasion of Iraq, on Monday
downplayed the impact of the attacks on US soldiers on
the coalition's overall victory. "Will the problems in
Iraq and the attacks spoil the victory achieved by the
Americans? Of course not."
Franks said that all
Iraqis have a brighter future now than they did three or
four months ago. More Iraqis would likely have agreed
with Franks three months ago than do now, however.
Copyright (c) 2002, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted
with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC
20036
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