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pritchke · 04-02-2003, 02:46 PM

http://www.macleans.ca/xta-doc2/2003...er/57743.shtml

ARTHUR KENT reports on how Washington's planners got the math wrong

WAS IT just another random collage of video streams, or did the juxtaposition of live TV feeds on Britain's Sky News this past Wednesday reveal much more than the sum of its parts? On the left frame of the split screen, above the title "War on Iraq," Tony Blair was facing Prime Minister's Questions at Westminster and being quoted as saying "enormous progress has been made." Simultaneously, at frame right, a body was being pulled from the wreckage of a Baghdad bazaar, allegedly hit by misguided U.S. or British missiles.

So is it progress or predicament in the war on Iraq? The former, insist officials at the Pentagon, who, after waffling for a time, finally declined to accept responsibility for bombing. But with mounting civilian casualties -- including another gruesome bombing at a second Baghdad bazaar -- and grim reports from the battlefield, an unsettling pattern is developing in this second week of the U.S.-led campaign: a good number of physical objectives are being achieved, but almost invariably without gaining the desired results. Armoured infantry columns ate up 300 km of desert on the way to Baghdad, only to be stalled by overstretched supply lines that are regularly ambushed by Iraqi troops and militia. Despite the bombing, Baghdad functioned behind its thick veil of smoke from surrounding oil fires. And while American and British firepower is brought to bear on strategic cities such as Basra and Nasiriyah, it's not grateful civilians providing the welcome, but fanatically determined militiamen willing to fight and die.

"You could have expected that the Fedayeen would be fanatical," says Daniel Neep, a Middle East specialist for Britain's Royal United Services Institute, referring to the young irregulars who have emerged from obscurity to make their mark on the front lines. "But the fact that they've actually translated their fanaticism into organized resistance is quite surprising."

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An article that digs a little deeper into Donald Rumsfeld blunders, and shows. I really believe the Rumsfeld'sd and the Perle's of the world are influencing Bush's decisions and that is not a good thing for anyone except maybe themselves and a few friends.
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Perle wrote: "The 'good works' part [of the UN] will survive, the low-risk peacekeeping bureaucracies will remain, the looming chatterbox on the Hudson will continue to bleat. What will die with Iraq is the fantasy of the UN as the foundation of a new world order."

One senior member of Secretary General Kofi Annan's staff shakes his head in disbelief. "I don't think there's any way to change the minds of people like this," he told Maclean's. "They're diehard rejectionists and there's probably no way of turning them around. But I believe there are many more people who understand the great potential benefits of the United Nations, and it's these people who will help us get around the Richard Perles.

[ 04-02-2003, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

04-02-2003, 02:46 PM	#1
pritchke Bastet - Egyptian Cat Goddess Join Date: September 5, 2001 Location: Calgary, AB Age: 50 Posts: 3,491	http://www.macleans.ca/xta-doc2/2003...er/57743.shtml ARTHUR KENT reports on how Washington's planners got the math wrong WAS IT just another random collage of video streams, or did the juxtaposition of live TV feeds on Britain's Sky News this past Wednesday reveal much more than the sum of its parts? On the left frame of the split screen, above the title "War on Iraq," Tony Blair was facing Prime Minister's Questions at Westminster and being quoted as saying "enormous progress has been made." Simultaneously, at frame right, a body was being pulled from the wreckage of a Baghdad bazaar, allegedly hit by misguided U.S. or British missiles. So is it progress or predicament in the war on Iraq? The former, insist officials at the Pentagon, who, after waffling for a time, finally declined to accept responsibility for bombing. But with mounting civilian casualties -- including another gruesome bombing at a second Baghdad bazaar -- and grim reports from the battlefield, an unsettling pattern is developing in this second week of the U.S.-led campaign: a good number of physical objectives are being achieved, but almost invariably without gaining the desired results. Armoured infantry columns ate up 300 km of desert on the way to Baghdad, only to be stalled by overstretched supply lines that are regularly ambushed by Iraqi troops and militia. Despite the bombing, Baghdad functioned behind its thick veil of smoke from surrounding oil fires. And while American and British firepower is brought to bear on strategic cities such as Basra and Nasiriyah, it's not grateful civilians providing the welcome, but fanatically determined militiamen willing to fight and die. "You could have expected that the Fedayeen would be fanatical," says Daniel Neep, a Middle East specialist for Britain's Royal United Services Institute, referring to the young irregulars who have emerged from obscurity to make their mark on the front lines. "But the fact that they've actually translated their fanaticism into organized resistance is quite surprising." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ An article that digs a little deeper into Donald Rumsfeld blunders, and shows. I really believe the Rumsfeld'sd and the Perle's of the world are influencing Bush's decisions and that is not a good thing for anyone except maybe themselves and a few friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perle wrote: "The 'good works' part [of the UN] will survive, the low-risk peacekeeping bureaucracies will remain, the looming chatterbox on the Hudson will continue to bleat. What will die with Iraq is the fantasy of the UN as the foundation of a new world order." One senior member of Secretary General Kofi Annan's staff shakes his head in disbelief. "I don't think there's any way to change the minds of people like this," he told Maclean's. "They're diehard rejectionists and there's probably no way of turning them around. But I believe there are many more people who understand the great potential benefits of the United Nations, and it's these people who will help us get around the Richard Perles. [ 04-02-2003, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]