Shock and shock

There is a touch of irony in the tragedy of the attack on Rashid Hotel in Baghdad where Paul Wolfowitz, the US under secretary of defence an...

There is a touch of irony in the tragedy of the attack on Rashid Hotel in Baghdad where Paul Wolfowitz, the US under secretary of defence and a leading architect of the war through 8220;shock and awe8221; was lodged, symbolising the new war now in full swing. In the worst carnage since the Iraq war ended, the string of bombings across Baghdad within the span of three-quarters of an hour, including at the International Committee for Red Cross headquarters and other well-guarded places that left over 35 dead and dozens more wounded, symbolised the nature of the evolving war. The Iraq war was supposed to have been over six months ago after the resounding military victory of Anglo-American arms. Not only is the peace and freedom that the war had promised not been established, but a new war has taken root.

The US is in a growing quandary over even how to describe the attacks on its soldiers and Iraqis. Top US leaders are already using terminologies like 8220;insurgents8221; to describe those who are incessantly attacking the US forces and their supporters, besides Iraqi policemen. Its civilian and military leaders in Baghdad seem to hold different views on whether these attackers are local terrorists, Ba8217;athist, or foreign fighters in pursuit of their own jihad. The only thing clear to emerge from the missile attack from crude launchers on the Red Cross headquarters, and the shooting down of the helicopter by a grenade launcher, is that the technique used was not very different from that employed by Mujahideen created by CIA and directed by Pakistan8217;s ISI in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

But as long as American soldiers and Iraqi civilians keep getting killed, Washington would have great difficulty in convincing anyone that Iraq is now more stable, secure or free than before. Few countries are willing to lend a helping hand to the beleaguered Anglo-American forces, and even friendly Pakistan has been unwilling to oblige the US request for forces. Iraqis are unwilling to accept Turkish forces for obvious reasons. One wonders if the US realises the problem that the irregular war against the occupying forces seems to have started to gather a momentum of its own. There is a serious risk that if this is not reversed soon it may slide into greater permanency, making any international effort to deal with it less likely to succeed, and less acceptable to nations. Meanwhile attacks on the UN and the Red Cross are obviously planned to drive them away making humanitarian assistance even more risky and less successful. The time is running out for a change of gears by the US to shift control over to the UN as early as possible.