May 15, 2003
US predicts 'long fight' in Iraq.
LA Times article (registration req'd). Resistance in Iraq is strong and well-armed, and apparently having an effect.
BAGHDAD Ð From attacking American soldiers to sabotaging Iraq's power grid, well-armed remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime are waging a campaign that is stalling the United States' reconstruction efforts and undermining popular support for its presence in Iraq, senior U.S. civilian and military officials here say.
"There are still regime elements out there that are actively, aggressively seeking to impede, discredit or disrupt coalition operations," Army Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, said Wednesday. "They destroy infrastructure repairs made by the coalition and the Iraqis."
So effective is the campaign that McKiernan signaled that it may prolong the U.S. military presence here. "They are committed to a long fight that will complicate the mission of the coalition," he said. "We will stay until a secure environment is achieved."
The focus of the resistance seems to be on the electricity grid. But part of the problem also seems to be unrealistic expectations of the US.
"We have always considered the United States a superpower capable of anything and we expected them to get the power back on right away," Aneeba Jabar, director of a local orphanage, said. "But it's been more than a month now, and still we're in darkness most of the night."
Sigh. No, America is not a "superpower" and it is definitely not "capable of anything." These constant reports that it is are doing a lot of damage. More and more I get the impression people around the world are just sitting around waiting for the US to fix everything. So many people refer to the US as the "engine of world growth", and still seem to making their economic plans based on the assumption that US "recovery" is imminent, and that it will solve all of their problems. Not going to happen. This is what is known as a "co-dependent" relationship. And it's no healthier between nations than it is between people.
