Guerrilla War May Be Ending In Iraq

The Daily Telegraph ^ | July 24, 2003 | Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor

[bruinbirdman]

The euphoria among American forces over the death of Saddam's sons was tempered yesterday by the killing of two US soldiers in separate ambushes.

Nevertheless, senior British and US officials predict that the death of Uday and Qusay will go a long way towards "cutting the head off the snake" in the daily war of attrition against Iraqi gunmen.

In a further sign of the improvement in the allies' intelligence, US forces captured Barzan Abdel-Ghafur al-Tikriti, the commander of the Special Republican Guard, Saddam's praetorian guard, made up of ultra-loyalists from his Tikriti clan. He was number 11 in America's list of most-wanted Iraqis.

Coalition officials believe that the almost daily attacks on American forces are being masterminded by former members of the Republican Guards, the Special Republican Guards and the militia known as the Saddam Fedayeen.

They are probably strengthened by volunteers from other Arab and Muslim countries, forming a kind of Islamic international brigade.

The deaths of Uday and Qusay and the arrest of Barzan Abdel-Ghafur are seen as body blows to the organisation of militant fighters.

The coalition's successes shatter the myth that Saddam's dynasty is invincible and restore some self-confidence to the coalition after accusations that it had become bogged down. By persuading Iraqis that Saddam has no chance of escape, let alone making a comeback, the allies hope for co-operation in intelligence and help to rebuild the country's institutions.

But, in the short term, Paul Bremer, the US administrator of Iraq, said there is a risk of revenge attacks by Saddam loyalists.

[JailToThe Chief]

I’m not sure there is a gorilla war actually going on to begin with. A few attacks a day on a force of 145,000 is not that many. Though I do mourn the loss of life which has been averaging one every other day, I don’t see a full scale rebellion going on.

[squidly]

Though I do mourn the loss of life which has been averaging one every other day, I don’t see a full scale rebellion going on.

That's the truth, but try telling it to some people who think we're suffering a bloodbath. Hell, our troops aren't in any more danger of dying over there than they are in Washington DC, if you go by that town's murder rate.

[AntiGuv]

I'll believe it when I see it. So far as I understand the radical Islamist mentality, we've just handed them a couple prize martyrs - Saddam's 'heroic' sons [puke] going down in valiant battle.. In the rush to self-congratulation no one appears to have remarked on that aspect quite yet.....

[Steel Wolf]

You're entirely right. Most of the resistance is sporadic, and isolated. The snipers who engage the U.S. troops are generally foriegn whack jobs who don't survive the encounter.

There are remnants of the super diehard Baathist elements that will not surrender, and will have to be killed fighting. By persistantly pursuing and killing the leaders, the group will collapse.

Hope must be a scarce commodity in the Baathist camp these days. If the terrible two are dead, then big daddy can't be far behind.

On a side note, I think it is very significant that they were found with only one bodyguard. Saddam will likely be found in similiar circumstances - Travelling with only as many people as would fit in a regular sized auto, and lightly armed. He likely fears contact with almost everyone, as well he should. Saddams last stand will probably end in the bathroom, as well.

[M0sby]

Okay, someone finally said it..THANK YOU!
I am by NO MEANS diminishing the loss of life of ANY of our servicemen and women by saying this (my husband is a Marine in Kuwait) but I am SO tired of the press making it sound like this is the most dangerous place in the world to be! It sounds as if we are purposely (and needlessly) putting these folks in such GRAVE danger...
I agree that they are in danger... and I THANK THEM from the bottom of my heart but I am curious about what the average daily death rate per 100-200 thousand YOUNG men is in the US.

Know what I mean???

[M0sby]

I just know someone is going to take my above post the wrong way... I'm really just ranting at the press...

[Bogey78O]

In a guerilla war the first side that realizes it can't win in fact proves itself right.

We keep thinking of this from our perspective. It works both ways. If a guy realizes Ba'ath ain't coming back then he's not going to risk his neck. He'll look to get a job and work in the new system.

Only nutjobs give ya a problem then. But that's anywhere you go.

[McGavin999]

It would be really fun to watch Saddam over the next couple of days. The guy was totally paranoid before this, can you imagine what he's going to be like now? Especially since he knows that someone betrayed them. LOL, the guys is going to go completely off the deep end.

[AntiGuv]

I would bet a token sum ;^) that Saddam has some secret bunker known only to himself and the murdered prisoners who built it... Otherwise, he's probably in the villa of someone whose children are hostage in some unknown location.. Then again, perhaps he's in Paris..

[squidly]

I just know someone is going to take my above post the wrong way.

I doubt that much of anybody on this site will. When people make a big outcry about the 150 or so KIA we've lost since Operation IF kicked off, it's just another way for them to say that they didn't think there was anything about Iraq worth fighting over. They made their opinion known before the war, and now they're trying to re-state that opinion in the form of an "I told you so" when they point to our fallen troops.

What they don't understand is that those of us who favored the war knew that some of our's were going to die, and we had decided ahead of time that it was worth it. That's what I decided, anyway. Nothing that has happened in Iraq since March has changed my opinion in the slightest about the rightness of our cause. If you had told me back then that we'd make it into late July with only 150 KIA, I'd have called you a liar. I never would have believed we could have deposed Saddam's regime while taking so few casualties.

On the third hand, I think there's some in the mushy middle who were for the war so long as we could wrap it up in a week like Gulf War I, but now that it's dragged out their support has dwindled. Fools is the only word that describes them.

[Steel Wolf]

If Saddam wants to spend the rest of his life in a hidden underground bunker eating canned food, stinking to high heaven, and living every minute in fear of being caught, I'm all for it.

Same goes for Paris.

[cibco]

"On the third hand, I think there's some in the mushy middle who were for the war so long as we could wrap it up in a week like Gulf War I"

GW1 took about 6 weeks...

[squidly]

GW1 took about 6 weeks... Ground war took 100 hours. The public views a ground war quite differently from air strikes.

[rwfromkansas]

"I’m not sure there is a gorilla war actually going on to begin with."

I can't help but comment. Yes, I am positive there is no "gorilla war" going on currently.

They have not left the forests to start beating us down.

[kayak]

I understand exactly what you mean and agree with you wholeheartedly!

May God bless you and your wonderful Marine husband! Tell him how much he is appreciated by the vast majority of Americans .... and that a whole lot of us are praying for him daily. Thanks to both of you for the sacrifices you are making!!!