What will be the ideology to sustain Iraqi resistance? Is there such an ideology in Iraq? Islamic fundamentalism? ***********************
I think that the best way to answer this is by first placing yourself, as much as imagination allows, in the position of an Iraqi.
I can easily imagine being motivated to violence if:
a. Basic services necessary for modern life are offline or intermittant
b. Confused, nervous, often angry and heavily armed foreign troops are patrolling the streets of my town
c. I've witnessed the (possibly quite horrid) deaths of family or friends or neighbors or simply a person who was minding his/her own business and was gunned down.
d. A foreign power, claiming to be doing things in my best interest, and supposedly the bunch in charge, shows little competence, little desire to include even people I respect in decision making and generally makes my life obviously more difficult simply by being in my country.
This is the hard reality that can feed random outbursts of violence. Any number of ideologies - Islamic fundamentalism, Ba'athism, whatever - can simply provide idea wrappers and organizing principles for emotions which are the natural effect of the causes listed.
It is possible for several movements to compete for people's loyalty - disagreeing on philosophical points but agreeing that the foreigners must go.
Wasn't this Mao's conclusion during the latter years of counter-insurgency against the Japanese occupiers?
DRM
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