[Dean's World] Dave Price: The Long Hard Slog In Iraq

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Posted by Dave Price:
The Long Hard Slog In Iraq
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1201304330.shtml


   [1]This CSM piece is a perfect example of the struggle in Iraq between
   Al Qaeda and the Sahwa "Concerned Local Citizen" movement:

     "If anyone registers for CLCs, [Al Qaeda in Iraq] will put them in
     the road and kill them," lamented one man, standing outside the
     school where villagers were supposed to sign up for the civilian
     militia. Only one person made the commitment that day. "We are
     afraid. We don't have enough weapons to protect ourselves, and with
     this gun I can't protect myself against mortars."
     He had just received a text message on his cellphone: 150 members
     of Al Qaeda are gathering in a nearby district, ready for revenge.
     He heard of another town where "Al Qaeda in five minutes killed
     everyone, including women breastfeeding. They destroyed that town
     completely. We don't want to repeat that."
     US Army Capt. Dustin Heumphreus, commander of Arrow Troop, 2nd
     Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, tried to calm the man -- and a host
     of others milling about in the background -- using as examples
     several other towns made safe by effective CLCs. He also noted that
     now the US and Iraqi military presence itself had broken any deal
     the town may have had with Al Qaeda. Their best choice was to join
     the CLCs

   The whole article is worth reading (though at one point the author
   amusingly uses "prevaricating" where he probably meant "vacillating")
   as it really paints a perfect picture of why Iraq has the problems it
   does and why our strategic shift to the CLCs was so important and has
   reaped such rewards.
   More than anything, perhaps, this highlights the essence of the
   struggle between oppression and freedom ongoing in northern Iraq, and
   why it would be such a horrific mistake to abandon these people to Al
   Qaeda.

References

   1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080123/ts_csm/oclc