More glowing reports about Iraq

Senior Military officials aren't exactly optimistlc about Iraq.

Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, told me: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

So, we lost Vietnam because the Vietnamese were supporting a political ideology. We underestimated their dedication to communism, and as a result were slaughtered. This happened in spite of the fact that we dropped more bombs on Vietnam than we did in the duration of WWII. W Andrew Terrill, professor at the Army War College's strategic studies institute, says the Iraqis are going to be even more devoted to their religion, and that's not good for the administration's plans:

"If you are a Muslim and the community is under occupation by a non-Islamic power it becomes a religious requirement to resist that occupation," Terrill explained. "Most Iraqis consider us occupiers, not liberators." He describes the religious imagery common now in Fallujah and the Sunni triangle: "There's talk of angels and the Prophet Mohammed coming down from heaven to lead the fighting, talk of martyrs whose bodies are glowing and emanating wonderful scents."

This good news comes with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's statement declaring that the invasion of Iraq is a breach of international law.

Posted by Barry at September 16, 2004 11:27 AM | Trackback