[lbo-talk] Worker Communist Party of Iraq, April 4, 2004

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Grant Lee grantlee at iinet.net.au, Thu Apr 15 00:42:45 PDT 2004:
>>None of the governments that have refused to participate in the 
>>invasion and occupation of Iraq so far will send its own troops to 
>>occupy and pacify Iraq without US troops performing the majority of 
>>combat duties.
>
>Presuming that the present degree of "combat" is inevitable, yes. It 
>appears that it is the very _presence_ of US troops (not to mention 
>their conduct of the occupation) which is provoking much of the 
>"combat". I suspect Iraq would be a totally different proposition if 
>US forces were replaced by equivalent numbers from non-invading 
>countries. Of course, few governments will want to suck it and see 
>what the flavour is.

If there is no likelihood of combat, foreign soldiers are not 
necessary in Iraq.  After all, the job of soldiers is to combat.  If 
there is any likelihood of combat at all, foreign soldiers unprepared 
to fight are useless:

* " The [Japanese] government's strategy is to place Japanese troops 
inside their barracks cocoon - but the term "barracks" hardly begins 
to describe the heavily fortified and guarded walls of their isolated 
luxury compound. Many of its soldiers will not be allowed to venture 
beyond the perimeter of the base. . . .The primary task of the 
contingent of Japanese soldiers already deployed in Iraq, augmenting 
advance troops, is to construct the super-fort that will house up to 
550 men. The ultra-modern base is being built on a muddy site about 
10 kilometers outside Samawah. The isolated location was chosen in 
order to make the camp less vulnerable to attacks by suicide bombers 
and other insurgents" (Sean Curtin, "Japan's 'Fortress of Solitude' 
in Iraq - plus Karaoke," February 19, 2004, 
<http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/FB19Dh05.html>).

* "Some 600 Korean troops stationed in Nisiriyah, mostly engineers 
and medical personnel, have been also instructed to stay within their 
barracks" ("Coping with Iraq Mess," April 9, 2004, 
<http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/04/09/200404090013.asp>).

* "Last Wednesday, Ukrainian troops abandoned the strategic town of 
Kut, evacuating about 20 American, British, Polish and other civilian 
officials of the U.S.-led occupation authority after mortar and 
infantry attacks by al-Sadr's militia, the al-Mahdi Army. . . . 
Elsewhere, the Spanish military watched as al-Sadr's gunmen seized 
control of the holy Shiite city of Najaf" (AP, "Shiite Uprising 
Places Coalition Partners on Front Lines," April 14, 2004, 
<http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/shiiteuprising14.htm>).

Foreign soldiers who are instructed to behave like the Japanese, 
Korean, Ukrainian, and Spanish troops described above will not be of 
any assistance to Iraqis who fear those who have participated in the 
uprising.


>And if such a handover were to occur

Will never happen.
-- 
Yoshie

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