"Marines Sweep Through Western Iraq Cities"

by Col. Patrick Lang (Ret.)

This area could — if substantial Iraqi forces are not added, or if U.S. forces are trimmed during a pullout — foretell a future where Sunni tribes with ties to the insurgency rule large parts of Iraq. Antonio Castaneda for the AP (PDF)

If you read this carefully, you will hear the marines telling you that what we are doing along the Syrian border is necessary but inconclusive in terms of the ultimate outcome in the war.

There have to be IRAQI troops who can hold the towns, especially the towns in this western beduin-descended Sunni Arab part of Iraq. Without that, we can do this kind of thing forever.

The administration is now considering further action against Syria in the evident belief that the Syrian government is more than a passive actor in the also beduin-descended area of eastern Syria. Evidently Elliot Abrams and his NSC crew wuold liek the air forces to bomb a group of towns inside Syria.

Both DIA and CIA have told the NSC that the evidence is inconclusive concerning Syrian government involvement in cross-border infiltration but, no matter.

Maybe they can come up with another Office of Special Plans (OSP) to do “better analysis.”

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“Drinking the Kool-Aid,” Middle East Policy Council Journal, Vol. XI, Summer 2004, No. 2

7 Comments

Dean Pajevic on October 3, 2005 at 11:37 pm

From Joshua Landis, a Univ of Oklahoma prof who is living in Damascus:

The battle over how much pressure should be applied to Syria continues to rage in Washington. Those hawks, such as Max boot, quoted below, advocate the US go it alone, not by leading a full invasion of Syria, but by “bombing strikes, commando raids and increased support for anti-Assad dissidents.” What a fool this Boot is. Such provocations would only lead to the rise of nationalism in Syria and the hardening of attitudes against the US. They would also further radicalize great swaths of Syrian youth who already see the US occupation of Iraq as criminal. They would backfire and cause the death of more American troops and Iraqis.

Boot and his ilk have no idea what has been going on in Syria. The Asad regime has been sewing terror among the families of Islamists. Anyone who even contemplates sneaking into Iraq to fight places his family and friends in deep trouble. For months now the security apparatus has been persecuting Syrian Islamists through arrests, interrogations and disappearances. Razan Zaitouneh, a courageous human rights lawyer in Damascus has been keeping track of the human toll of this campaign by the Syrian government. I will post Joe Pace’s interview with her soon.

Cracking down on terror’s cronies

The U.S. must put pressure on abetting nations such as Pakistan and Syria

By Max Boot September 29, 2005

One of the keys to defeating any guerrilla movement is to cut off its outside support…. Today, even as the U.S. is making considerable progress in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are failing to isolate the battlefield. ….

[…]

Iraqi FM on Ties with Syria
01/10/2005
By Saleh Awwad

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat while in New York to attend UN General Assembly session and the World Summit, Zebari said that among the strong factors that “keep the ghost of sectarian war at bay is the abundance of inter-marriages between Sunnis and Shiites, which account for 26 percent of all marriages.” Zebari stressed that the “biggest danger facing the new Iraq is the black terrorism and mass murder perpetrated by gangs of remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime and extremists terrorists coming from abroad.” …

The Iraqi foreign minister insisted that Syria is party to the violence in Iraq, and said that the problem lies not in the lack of resources or equipment needed to monitor borders, as Syrian officials keep saying, “but in the lack of a Syrian political will to end the terrorism in Iraq.” He stressed that “it is not in Iraq’s interest to incite the United States or any other foreign power against Syria,” and hinted that Damascus seeks to change the political system in Iraq. …

Pentagon concedes Iraq uncertainties

By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005

WASHINGTON An array of top U.S. military leaders sought to reassure Congress about progress in Iraq, but they made it clear that American troops could begin withdrawing next year only if the country remained on its democratizing track and Syria and Iran stayed out of their neighbor’s affairs. …

Bush, aides consider what to do about Syria

White House looking at military action or sanctions to stop flow of insurgents into Iraq.

Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Bush and his top aides are weighing new steps against Syria, according to U.S. officials involved in Middle East policy.

Bush’s national security team met Saturday to review the policy toward Syria, the officials said. Options range from tougher economic sanctions to limited military action. One official involved in the deliberations said military action is unlikely for now.

Read all at SyriaComment.com.

Dean Pajevic on October 3, 2005 at 11:41 pm

From Pat’s blog:

Oh, no! Here we go with the “sanctuaries” in Cambodia and Laos, again.

If you can’t fight and win a war of occupation in one little country, then by all means, just spread the war and its destruction to include some neighboring little countries.

America doesn’t have a sane or responsible government. The Lunatic Leviathan has gotten loose to run amok again. Why does this all look like a bad remake of Lord of the Flies?

Posted by: Michael Murry | 03 October 2005 at 05:37 PM

BostonJoe on October 4, 2005 at 7:46 am

“I heard we are in Syria right now, man,” an imaginary soldier says to his pal. “We are in deep shit, man.”

Dean Pajevic on October 4, 2005 at 11:25 am

George Clooney has a movie coming out in Decenber.

It’s called “Syriana.”

it’s based on Robert Baer’s book about his days in the CIA and how the U.S. has screwed up Middle East policy.

I can’t wait.
- BostonJoe on October 4, 2005 at 12:00 pm
  
  Sounds good. My main education on U.S. foreign policy has come from Chomsky. It’d be good to broaden that a bit.
  - Dean Pajevic on October 4, 2005 at 1:14 pm
    
    Chomsky? Oh, are you warped or what?! 🙂
    
    You and Pat Tillman.
    
    (Sigh.)
    
    Free Speech TV channel (on DISH) plays Chomsky’s documentaries on the media, etc. all the time … I watch them every once in a while. Kind of like a refresher course! 🙂
    
    This SYRIA business is deadly serious. I’m kind of surprised that more people aren’t posting here about it.
    
    Bush will probably bomb Syria. There are other ways, but bombing seems to fit his style.
    - Gaianne on October 4, 2005 at 4:35 pm
      
      Current rumor is that the EU, Russia, and China all agree that Iran should NOT be allowed to drop out of oil production. That means the US cannot bomb there without facing real countermeasures from countries powerful enough to carry them out.
      
      So the bombing of Iran is presumably on hold. Where to bomb? Syria then. It’s looking inevitable.

Dean Pajevic on October 3, 2005 at 11:37 pm

From Joshua Landis, a Univ of Oklahoma prof who is living in Damascus:

The battle over how much pressure should be applied to Syria continues to rage in Washington. Those hawks, such as Max boot, quoted below, advocate the US go it alone, not by leading a full invasion of Syria, but by “bombing strikes, commando raids and increased support for anti-Assad dissidents.” What a fool this Boot is. Such provocations would only lead to the rise of nationalism in Syria and the hardening of attitudes against the US. They would also further radicalize great swaths of Syrian youth who already see the US occupation of Iraq as criminal. They would backfire and cause the death of more American troops and Iraqis.

Boot and his ilk have no idea what has been going on in Syria. The Asad regime has been sewing terror among the families of Islamists. Anyone who even contemplates sneaking into Iraq to fight places his family and friends in deep trouble. For months now the security apparatus has been persecuting Syrian Islamists through arrests, interrogations and disappearances. Razan Zaitouneh, a courageous human rights lawyer in Damascus has been keeping track of the human toll of this campaign by the Syrian government. I will post Joe Pace’s interview with her soon.

Cracking down on terror’s cronies

The U.S. must put pressure on abetting nations such as Pakistan and Syria

By Max Boot September 29, 2005

One of the keys to defeating any guerrilla movement is to cut off its outside support…. Today, even as the U.S. is making considerable progress in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are failing to isolate the battlefield. ….

[…]

Iraqi FM on Ties with Syria
01/10/2005
By Saleh Awwad

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat while in New York to attend UN General Assembly session and the World Summit, Zebari said that among the strong factors that “keep the ghost of sectarian war at bay is the abundance of inter-marriages between Sunnis and Shiites, which account for 26 percent of all marriages.” Zebari stressed that the “biggest danger facing the new Iraq is the black terrorism and mass murder perpetrated by gangs of remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime and extremists terrorists coming from abroad.” …

The Iraqi foreign minister insisted that Syria is party to the violence in Iraq, and said that the problem lies not in the lack of resources or equipment needed to monitor borders, as Syrian officials keep saying, “but in the lack of a Syrian political will to end the terrorism in Iraq.” He stressed that “it is not in Iraq’s interest to incite the United States or any other foreign power against Syria,” and hinted that Damascus seeks to change the political system in Iraq. …

Pentagon concedes Iraq uncertainties

By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005

WASHINGTON An array of top U.S. military leaders sought to reassure Congress about progress in Iraq, but they made it clear that American troops could begin withdrawing next year only if the country remained on its democratizing track and Syria and Iran stayed out of their neighbor’s affairs. …

Bush, aides consider what to do about Syria

White House looking at military action or sanctions to stop flow of insurgents into Iraq.

Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Bush and his top aides are weighing new steps against Syria, according to U.S. officials involved in Middle East policy.

Bush’s national security team met Saturday to review the policy toward Syria, the officials said. Options range from tougher economic sanctions to limited military action. One official involved in the deliberations said military action is unlikely for now.

Read all at SyriaComment.com.
Dean Pajevic on October 3, 2005 at 11:41 pm

From Pat’s blog:

Oh, no! Here we go with the “sanctuaries” in Cambodia and Laos, again.

If you can’t fight and win a war of occupation in one little country, then by all means, just spread the war and its destruction to include some neighboring little countries.

America doesn’t have a sane or responsible government. The Lunatic Leviathan has gotten loose to run amok again. Why does this all look like a bad remake of Lord of the Flies?

Posted by: Michael Murry | 03 October 2005 at 05:37 PM
BostonJoe on October 4, 2005 at 7:46 am

“I heard we are in Syria right now, man,” an imaginary soldier says to his pal. “We are in deep shit, man.”
- Dean Pajevic on October 4, 2005 at 11:25 am
  
  George Clooney has a movie coming out in Decenber.
  
  It’s called “Syriana.”
  
  it’s based on Robert Baer’s book about his days in the CIA and how the U.S. has screwed up Middle East policy.
  
  I can’t wait.
  - BostonJoe on October 4, 2005 at 12:00 pm
    
    Sounds good. My main education on U.S. foreign policy has come from Chomsky. It’d be good to broaden that a bit.
    - Dean Pajevic on October 4, 2005 at 1:14 pm
      
      Chomsky? Oh, are you warped or what?! 🙂
      
      You and Pat Tillman.
      
      (Sigh.)
      
      Free Speech TV channel (on DISH) plays Chomsky’s documentaries on the media, etc. all the time … I watch them every once in a while. Kind of like a refresher course! 🙂
      
      This SYRIA business is deadly serious. I’m kind of surprised that more people aren’t posting here about it.
      
      Bush will probably bomb Syria. There are other ways, but bombing seems to fit his style.
      - Gaianne on October 4, 2005 at 4:35 pm
        
        Current rumor is that the EU, Russia, and China all agree that Iran should NOT be allowed to drop out of oil production. That means the US cannot bomb there without facing real countermeasures from countries powerful enough to carry them out.
        
        So the bombing of Iran is presumably on hold. Where to bomb? Syria then. It’s looking inevitable.

“Marines Sweep Through Western Iraq Cities”

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