As the U.S. occupation of Iraq rages on, Iraqis continue to resist the criminal imperialist presence in their country. May 2007 was the third deadliest month for U.S. troops since the “shock and awe” invasion in March 2003.
Iraqi resistance fighters continue to target the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Once deemed impenetrable by
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The reality of Iraq on the ground is causing more disagreements about the occupation’s handling to surface within the U.S. ruling class.
This month, retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said that the U.S. military cannot win in Iraq. “I think if we do the right things politically and economically with the right Iraqi leadership we could still salvage at least a stalemate, if you will … not a stalemate but at least stave off defeat.”
Sanchez is not against the war. He commanded the U.S. military forces in Iraq during the first year of the occupation. Sanchez is infamous for his approval of torture at Abu Ghraib.
His bleak comments reflect a widely held view in ruling class circles. Sanchez and many other imperialists want a change of direction in Iraq. They do not want to leave altogether—they want Iraq’s oil and its strategic perch in the Middle East. But Sanchez and his ilk want to “salvage” the war from the Bush administration to prevent the U.S. military from being forced out completely as it was in Vietnam.
Even the Bush administration is starting to float new plans—none of which include withdrawal and self-determination for Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other administration bigwigs have recently referenced a “Korea model” for Iraq. In other words, there would be a “withdrawal” of some troops, but tens of thousands, as many as 50,000, would occupy Iraq permanently. This is based on the 57 year-long U.S. military occupation of the Korean peninsula.
Democratic Party politicians are floating many additional proposals, such as dividing Iraq along regional lines, phased “redeployment” of U.S. troops and others.
It is clear that the violence and mounting death tolls will continue until the occupation ends. People all over the world already know this. And the more people in the United States are becoming acutely aware of this fact.
A recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg News poll found that not only Bush, but the Democratic Party controlled Congress is receiving low marks from the people. Twenty seven percent support the way Congress is doing business while 65 percent register their disapproval. The dramatic loss of support for Congress is the result of the Democrats’ funding of the Iraq war and occupation.
We cannot wait for Congress or the Bush administration to shape a plan for Iraq that will serve their aims. The Democrats and the Republicans both agree that the U.S. should dominate the Middle East. They both want to avoid the perception that the U.S. military machine was driven from Iraq at the hands of an armed Arab resistance movement. They are well aware that such a perception will stimulate other resistance struggles in the oil-rich Middle East.
