Can We Win the Guerrilla War?

Washington Post ^ | 12/03/03 | Jim Hoagland

[Pokey78]

There are moments in war that strip away the maneuvering, the rhetoric and the confusion that inevitably surround any conflict. One such moment occurred this week in the town of Samarra when Iraqi bandits ambushed a U.S. convoy and were repulsed with heavy losses.

Initial news accounts rushed past the obvious to focus on the guerrilla death toll, the tactics of the brief but bloody battle and disputes over civilian casualties. All important, yes. But the most revealing thing in this snapshot of conflict was the motive of these gunmen: They were after the money that U.S. troops were carrying to Iraqi banks.

At one basic level, the guerrilla war waged by Baathist remnants of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship is about money and privilege. The Baathists and their enormous clientele -- which stretches far outside Iraq -- have one of history's most extreme senses of entitlement.

[Southack]

He's got a unique view that is perhaps valid for the Ba'athists, though of course nowhere near applicable to the suicide bombers...

[BCrago66]

In my opinion Hoagland is in the same catagory as Krauthammer as one of the best columnists around. He gets less attention because he has a factual manner of presentation and there's no hyperbole. But he has traveled the Mid-East extensively and he knows his stuff.