[lbo-talk] squeezing jello in Iraq

[joanna bujes]

The much-anticipated US-led offensive to seize the Iraqi city of Falluja 
from anti-American Iraqi fighters has begun.  Meeting resistance that, 
while stiff at times, was much less than had been anticipated, US 
Marines and soldiers, accompanied by Iraqi forces loyal to the interim 
government of Iyad Allawi, have moved into the heart of Falluja. 

Fighting is expected to continue for a few more days, but US commanders 
are confident that Falluja will soon be under US control, paving the way 
for the establishment of order necessary for nation-wide elections 
currently scheduled for January 2005. 

But will it?  American military planners expected to face thousands of 
Iraqi resistance fighters in the streets of Falluja, not the hundreds 
they are currently fighting. They expected to roll up the network of Abu 
Musab al-Zarqawi and his foreign Islamic militants, and yet to date have 
found no top-tier leaders from that organization. As American forces 
surge into Falluja, Iraqi fighters are mounting extensive attacks 
throughout the rest of Iraq.

Far from facing off in a decisive battle against the resistance 
fighters, it seems the more Americans squeeze Falluja, the more the 
violence explodes elsewhere.  It is exercises in futility, akin to 
squeezing jello. The more you try to get a grasp on the problem, the 
more it slips through your fingers. 

[snip]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/718AE278-58EE-431F-8045-5A3F505021B8.htm