[Imc-beirut] MidEast Dispatches: More Troops but Less Control in Iraq

[iraq_dispatches at dahrjamailiraq.com]

** Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches **
** Visit the Dahr Jamail website http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
** Website by http://jeffpflueger.com **


      More Troops but Less Control in Iraq

*Inter Press Service*
Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily

*BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 (IPS) - More U.S. troops are expected to be deployed
in Iraq in the New Year. Despite obvious rethinking, there is no
decision on withdrawal of occupation forces.*

The presence of troops may be raised just for their own protection.
According to a Pentagon report, U.S. and Iraqi forces are facing close
to 1,000 attacks a week now. U.S. forces comprise more than 90 percent
of the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq.

According to the White House, 49 countries joined that coalition at the
time of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. That number has shrunk to
32, after countries like Italy and Canada withdrew troops this year.

Britain is expected to withdraw its 7,500 troops next year, after
pulling out 1,300 earlier this year.

Whatever the numbers, the vital question is whether U.S. troops will
continue to do next year what they have been doing this year.

Under the increasing number of attacks and the escalating chaos, it has
apparently become U.S. military policy to bulldoze or bomb houses
whenever attacks are launched on their patrols. This is particularly the
case in places like Fallujah, Samarra, Siniya, Ramadi and other Sunni
dominated areas. Sectarian conflict has roared between Shias and Sunnis,
who follow different beliefs within Islam.

This year has shown how the U.S. military is dealing with sectarian
violence. While it carried out collective punishment in cities like
Fallujah and Ramadi, it has ignored Shia death squads. Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki leads a Shia-dominated government.

Many Sunnis believe the U.S. military has long been favouring Shia
politicians and their militias.

"They are just pretending they are concerned about sectarian war, and
they are trying to convince the world that they are dealing with it
seriously," Yassir Mahmood of the Beji city council told IPS. Beji is
located 200 km north of Baghdad in an oil-rich area where attacks on
U.S. troops are commonplace.

Sunnis are concerned how far U.S. forces will take that tilt next year.
"They (the U.S. military) lifted their checkpoints around Sadr City in
Baghdad saying it was ordered by Maliki," Mahmood said. "Yet, when it
comes to our Sunni areas they increased killing of innocent civilians."

Most of the victims of death squads are Sunnis, whose bodies are found
on the streets of Baghdad every day. Many bodies show signs of torture,
particularly holes drilled into them, and wounds and deformation caused
by acid.

U.S. forces ignore such killings, and carry out their own, in moves to
crush Sunni resistance. And they are looking for reinforcements to carry
out this job. Since the middle of December, the Bush Administration has
been discussing sending an additional 20,000-50,000 troops to Iraq in a
"temporary" move. There are currently 141,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, with
at least 5,000 U.S. "advisors".

The U.S. military is also reported to be considering a major offensive
against Muqtada Sadr, the Shia cleric the U.S. administration says is
impeding the functioning of the Iraqi government.

But under the increasing attacks, the military itself feels unsafe. U.S.
troops are now going for fewer but larger bases in Iraq. From more than
100 bases earlier, the U.S. now has 54.

The bases are becoming like forts within which the U.S. forces stay.
Camp Anaconda in Balad, just north of Baghdad, is an air base with more
than 20,000 soldiers, less than 1,000 of whom ever leave the base,
according to local reports. About 250 aircraft are located at this base.

The situation in southern Iraq is also becoming difficult, with signs of
fighting between the two largest Shia militias, the Badr group and
Sadr's Mehdi Army.

"The Shia-Shia fight will be destructive," Dr. Ghassan al-Atiya, a
liberal Shia in London told IPS. "With all parties armed and longing for
ruling the rich southern region of Iraq, the whole Gulf area will
explode, and a real civil war will be a certain consequence."

Through the occupation, each time the U.S. has increased troop levels,
there has been a corresponding increase in attacks on the forces, and
consequently an increase in civilian casualties. Or, troop levels have
been increased in response to rising attacks. By either pattern, next
year could get much worse.

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(c)2006 Dahr Jamail.
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