Okay, this is getting WAY off-topic for a real-estate board, but let’s really think about this. We DEFEATED the Japanese and Germans, but the French, British, and Israelis (and perhaps we Americans too) have all failed to subdue Arab rebellions, so the Arabs are less worthy opponents? It’s true they don’t play by our rules, but of course we didn’t play by the British rules of engagement back in 1776, now did we? While they lined up in their fancy redcoats and marched in formation through the fields, we picked them off while hiding in trees. We didn’t even have the decency to wear uniforms! The American fighters were unkempt, unshaven, and uncouth, and the British were horrified at our uncivilized guerilla tactics. I am in NO WAY equating our founding fathers with the Iraqi resistance, I am just saying that you can’t be surprised that they’re not fighting by our rules. If they did, they’d last about 30 seconds, just long enough for us to drop some 2000-pounders on ’em!
As for hiding behind women and children, that’s just what happens in urban warfare. The Russians did the same thing to the Germans in Stalingrad. There was less of this in Western Europe because the front lines advanced very slowly and civilians usually had time to evacuate. In Iraq we occupied the whole place in the space of a month and the army just evaporated into the general population. Par for the course in any case where the opponents are drastically overmatched.
Our ONLY hope in Iraq is to get the people to trust our troops and the new Iraqi police and army. I am not sure if it’s even possible, but I hope that we still have a chance. We will all pay the price for many years to come if we don’t…
