Lawrence doesn't understand what is going on in Iraq. He somehow thinks all of the Iraqi are fighting the USA. He doesn't realize there is a civil war going on. He doesn't understand who is attacking the US forces in Iraq, and he certainly doesn't understand their motives.
The IEDs are a local weapon, just as guerilla insurgency is a local tactic. Guerillas can only fight within their supporting culture. But Lawrence doesn't understand this as well.
But none of this matters to Lawrence. He only cares about a "clash of civilizations" and other racial ideas to justify his assault on other cultures.
yrs, andreas www.andreas.com----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 11:07 AM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: How the US is losing in Iraq
Andreas? Which Andreas? Is this the same Andreas who just yesterday wrote:What are all of those "150 million" committed Jihadists doing?- Once every six or nine months, four or six Muslims try to blow up a bus orwhatever. Occassionally they do it, but mostly, they get caught.- A few thousand are in Iraq, along with several tens of thousands of IraqiShiites and Sunni who are fighting a civil war with each other and occassionally take shots at Americans. - They burn effigies whenever a Dane draws another cartoon. That's their level of commitment? They can get all upset over the USA, but that doesn't even lead to action. And because they have no infrastructure, they can't do anything that takes longer than a few days. This can't be the same Andreas! For if he scoffs at the Jihadists as a fictitious enemy one day, how can he claim the they are defeating us the next? Lawrence -----Original Message-----From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Andreas Ramos Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 9:27 AM To: Lit-Ideas Subject: [lit-ideas] How the US is losing in Iraq A good set of articles in today's Washington Post on how IEDs have become the major weapon against the US military in Iraq. Here are some quotes. ---------------- "We all drank the Kool-Aid," said a retired Army officer who worked on counter-IED issues for three years. "We believed (...) because the United States was the technology powerhouse, the solution to this problem wouldcome from science. That attitude was 'All we have to do is throw technologyat it and the problem will go away.' The day we lose a war, it will be toguys with spears and loincloths, because they're not tied to technology. Andwe're kind of close to being there."More than 81,000 IED attacks have occurred in Iraq, including 25,000 so farthis year, according to U.S. military sources. Bombs detonated by radio-controlled triggers, which had become the mostprominent killer of U.S. forces, today amount to only 10 percent of all IEDsin Iraq after the deployment of 30,000 jammers, with more on the way. The 100 or so daily IED "events" -- bombs that blow up, as well as thosediscovered before they detonate -- have doubled since the 50 per day typicalin January 2006. The 3,229 IEDs recorded in March of this year put the monthly total in Iraq above 3,000 for the first time, a threshold also exceeded in May and June. "The numbers," one Army colonel said, "are astonishing."Each week, the cat-and-mouse game expanded. When coalition convoys routinelybegan stopping 300 yards from a suspected IED, insurgents planted easilyspotted hoax bombs to halt traffic, then detonated explosives that had beenhidden where a convoy would most likely pull over. -------------- How did this happen? Miscalculation. The US military is built to carry out mechanized land war. They had no preparation to deal with a guerilla insurgency. The Iraqi, unable to carry out a land war, developed a new strategy based on low-level technology and local infrastructure.As long as the US continues to drive around in vehicles, the Iraqi will usemore IEDs. The US has spent $15 billion to stop IEDs, yet the number of IEDcontinues to grow. The Iraqi can modify the devices faster than the US can come up with solutions, and they can deploy these in overwhelming numbers. How to deal with this? Change the game. yrs, andreas www.andreas.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
