Dear Editor,
American President George Bush has not learnt anything from the defeat in the mid-term Congressional elections last November or the ongoing defeat in the war in Iraq. Americans voted against the war but Bush is arrogantly carrying on with his mid-adventure in Iraq by announcing an increase in combat troops to quell the country’s civil war.
Americans voted against Bush’s Republican party handing the Democrats a majority in both houses of Congress because Democrats want to bring home the troops. Americans don’t want their troops to continue to die needlessly in Iraq; their mission is too vague and has been shifting and achieving it is nowhere in sight. Seventy percent of Americans oppose the troop increase according to a poll conducted last week. The Congress and several generals who prosecuted the war are opposed to an increase in troop level. Every Guyanese American I spoke with is fed up of the war that has cost the country nearly $300 billion. In addition, the Iraqis don’t want Americans on their soil to help the country experiment with democracy. They also told pollsters they want the Americans out of their country. That is why they are targeting the American troops killing 3,100 and wounding 15,000, several Guyanese included, since the start of the war.
Bush has decided to add 22,000 troops to bring the situation under control in Iraq. If 132,000 could not hold down the small number of Iraqi dissidents, a further addition of troops won’t make much of a difference. The Iraqis are determined to fight the Americans who would be sitting targets and the American troops are getting tired of the fight. A cousin of mine, from Port Mourant, just finished his tour of duty. He told me the troops are fed up and homesick.
Clearly Bush’s mission in Iraq has failed.
The country is in the throes of a civil war between the minority Sunnis and majority Shiites. The Kurds and the Turkomans are removed from the main conflict although from time to time some of them also get killed and send off ammunition in retaliation.
Iraq functions for all practical purposes in ethnic zones. The official Iraqi government, which is controlled by the Shiites, may very well have to officially recognize the divided zones and divide the energy wealth of the country on an acceptable formula and let the ethnic groups have their own internal self governments.
Bush’s plan, endorsed by the Iraqi government, to subjugate the people with troop reinforcement will not work. It did not work for almost four years under American occupation. The British know very well from their colonial experience in Iraq that it is very difficult to suppress the Iraqis who are fierce fighters. More troops won’t pacify the Iraqis who will choose death rather than surrender to foreigners. Saddam went down fighting. That is the culture of Iraqis. It is foolish for Bush to think more troops will end the conflict. He is reinforcing failure. If it is the Bush plan to have a lull in the violence, declare victory and then announce a withdrawal of troops, then the increase of troops is well worth it. Otherwise, it would be wise to announce that invading Iraq was a mistake and ask the Europeans for help to broker a peace accord and bring home the troops.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
