Larry Johnson: The Death Of Zarqawi Is Welcome News. However...

[kpete]

Strategic Disconnection
by
Larry C Johnson

The death of Zarqawi, if true, is welcome news. However, as with the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, his death is not likely to bring a fundamental change in the violence now unleashed in Iraq.

Here is our dilemma. We need more troops, a lot more, in order to carry out an effective counter insurgent campaign. We need to protect the average Iraqis. But, we do not have the troops available to carry out this mission. Even if we wanted to, the opportunity to pursue this option has come and gone. Most of our forces live in isolation from the average Iraqi citizen. When Americans and Iraqis do meet, it usually involves someone pointing a gun, shooting a gun, or cleaning up in the aftermath of an improvised explosive device.

In previous wars and insurgencies, US soldiers have interacted with the local culture. They have married some of the women. Some have developed a deep appreciation for the culture. Not so in Iraq. We live in different, separate worlds. Most of our soldiers do not socialize with nor have regular contact with Iraqis. Most of our soldiers still do not speak the language. When you have so infrequent and violent contact with “alien” people it is no wonder that some soldiers will view the locals as something other than human beings. There is no easy nor quick solution to bridge this gap.

Closing the strategic gap in Iraq requires that our military and civilian leaders come to grip with the harsh realities on the ground. The hope for a secular, democratic society is at present a pipe dream. Sectarian power is the rule of law in Iraq and it is a law enforced through violence, torture, and intimidation. At this juncture, our military is dutifully, bravely, and tirelessly stacking sand bags to try to hold back the surging flood waters of sectarian violence. Unfortunately, there is no sign that the rain of intolerance is easing or that the waters of hatred are receding.

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MORE AT:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/strategic_disco.html

[Kni7es]

1. Good find, I agree.

I think it would be important for the democratic community at large to send a message that we, too, consider this a victory, albeit a small one, and cautiously reflect on how this is not so much an acomplishment as a setback for the insurgency. It hardly justifies anything. But if anything, don't make it somehow spun and contorted into a 'loss' for liberals.

[demswin06]

4. if you mean..

the "democratic" community as meaning those affiliated with the Democratic party,true. But the operative word here is SMALL victory. There will be and already are more Zarqawi's out there and we keep making them.

[kpete]

5. I do not believe he has been a major threat

for a couple of years now.

He was expendable...

[TayTay]

2. Nice post

Thanks for putting this up here.

[JNelson6563]

3. He's right, things won't change

Nothing has affected the positive change that is expected everytime we "turn a corner" in Eye-rack. This will be no different. The misAdministration will never admit they screwed up, therefore they will never take teh necessary steps to fix things.

Julie

[Jacobin]

6. More troops?

I'm getting really really tired of the commentators who simply INSIST that Iraq be PRECISELY like Viet Nam

Forking idiots (although he is right that this guy's death won't change a thing)

[rman]

7. I'd say the Bush gang is a much bigger problem than Zarqawi ever was

The death of Zarqawi is hardly relevant exept for W to use it to prop himself up as the defender of freedom and all that.