10 January 2005Scott Taylor
A contingent of about 1400 marines along with all their vehicles, equipment and helicopters are now actively employed in the Aceh region of Sumatra.
Despite bearing witness to the wholesale carnage and destruction, it was noted that the morale among the American marines was very high - not because they were able to help out the unfortunate survivors, but because they are no longer en route to Iraq, their original destination.
In fact, it seems somewhat ironic that this particular US taskforce includes the powerful aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It was aboard this very same warship on 1 May 2003 that US President George Bush triumphantly proclaimed "mission accomplished" and announced an "end to all major combat operations in Iraq". Unfortunately for the Bush administration the Iraqi resistance did not subscribe to this directive issued by the US commander in chief.
Over the past 20 months, the insurgency has continually gained in strength and efficiency to the point where the Pentagon was left with no choice but to increase the level of troop commitment to Iraq.
The USS Abraham Lincoln taskforce was just part of a planned 15,000 troop reinforcement, which will bring the American-led forces' total up to about 150,000 soldiers - more than were initially committed to the actual combat phase of the military intervention.
The official explanation for this temporary surge of personnel is that the additional American troops will help provide a secure environment for the fast-approaching 30 January elections.
In response, the Iraqi insurgents have also stepped up their efforts to derail the US attempt to force through the planned vote. As an indication of their capability and determination, the resistance fighters have drastically increased the number of suicide attacks.
In the past week alone, the resistance killed more than 90 people - most of them policemen in the US-funded security force.
One group of 18 Shia Arabs from Baghdad had been executed outside the northern city of Mosul. The Shia had been en route from the capital to start their new jobs inside the American airbase. Notes left behind on the bodies by the resistance denoted the victims as "traitors" and prophesied a similar fate for any Iraqi "working for the occupiers".
Also on the target list for the mujahidin are those Iraqi officials currently appointed to top jobs within the interim administration.
Despite heavy police security, the insurgents were able to murder Ali al-Haidri, the governor of Baghdad, last Tuesday, illustrating that no one in Iraq can be considered safe outside the US military Green Zone.
Despite the inability of the American troops and Iraqi security forces to quell the violence, Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and his cabinet have repeatedly committed themselves to meeting the 30 January election deadline.
At present, the head of the newly reconstituted Iraqi intelligence service believes that there are approximately 30,000 well-trained terrorists operating in Iraq.
Major-General Muhammad Abd Allah al-Shahwani advised Arab media outlets that the majority of these terrorists are located "in the Sunni areas where they receive the moral support from about 200,000 people".
General al-Shahwani also admits that the threat of terrorism will play a role in intimidating voters on 30 January and could actually escalate insurgent attacks "depending on the election result".
Despite this, the Iraqi intelligence chief optimistically predicts that the terrorist "attacks will recede and end in one year".
For those familiar with the situation on the ground, al-Shahwani's assessment of the complex guerrilla insurgency seems incredibly naive, particularly when one factors in the Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen tensions that have yet to fully explode in northern Iraq.
However, al-Shahwani's wishful thinking pales in comparison to the delusional ramblings of George Bush and his minions. With hundreds of thousands of coalition and Iraqi security forces battling insurgents and attempting to batten down Iraq under the iron grip of martial law - the American masterminds of this intervention are already claiming that America has "brought democracy to 28 million people".
No doubt this will be welcome news to those marines in Sumatra when they complete their humanitarian effort, reboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and sail back to continue a mission long since pronounced accomplished. Scott Taylor, a former soldier turned war correspondent is the editor of esprit de corps magazine and the author of six bestsellers. Since August 2000, Taylor has made a total of 20 trips into Iraq, before, during and after the US occupation.
The opinions expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position or have the endorsement of Aljazeera.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/546F50AD-6FBD-41D3-910B-2530E3F1896F.htm
