Rules of War - David

Rules of War - David Warren has this piece on the progress of the war so far. It's all excellent - but here's the must-read:

More, still, could have been achieved, in this very short time, had the Americans and their allies not been playing to the most exacting moral rules ever devised for warfare. They are restricted by, for instance, a general order not to engage any target at all -- including snipers and saboteurs within towns -- unless they have a clear sight of it. They allowed, for instance, a dozen Republican Guard to fire rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at Apache helicopters from the roof of a building in one location south of Baghdad, entirely unmolested, because the helicopter pilots, who could have taken them out in a few quick keystrokes, couldn't be sure of avoiding "collateral damage" to civilians who might be lurking in the building below. Giving the benefit of the doubt to surrendering soldiers cost most of the U.S. Marine casualties so far, in a single incident near Nasiriyah, as a suicide ambush was mounted under cover of white flags.

But these are details, and while the media dwell dotingly upon every individual allied casualty, in furtherance of the defeatist instincts they inherited from the 'sixties generation in Vietnam, the real issue lies in the heart of Baghdad.

There, about 20 obvious and significant targets remain untouched because of "human shields". The most effective of these shields is the Western news reporters, well over 100 of whom are exploited by what remains of Saddam's regime, often with their complicity in buying safety for themselves. These targets include even the Defence Ministry (which is used as a press briefing centre), Iraq TV (still broadcasting Saddam's propaganda stunts and messages, picked up by Al-Jazeera and distributed through the Arab and Muslim world to whip up anti-American sentiment), and the Rashid Hotel (under which the Iraqis have built their most secure bunker. There may be another under the more humble Palestine Hotel in which the lower-paid hacks are sleeping).

In the meantime, some bloggers are noting the similarities between Hussein's Saddam Fedayeen and Al Quaeda:

"We are not fighting Iraqis. We are fighting Al Qaeda now armed with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The continued operation of the Baghdad International Airport and other undisturbed egress has allowed Al Qaeda who want to leave with WMD to do so.

The ones who are left don't intend to leave. They intend to stay, fight and die. And they don't give a rip for Iraqi civilian casualties."

I'm inclined to think that:

• The Fedayeen aren't necessarily Al Quaeda, but they certainly fight from the same playbook; none of their tactics are proprietary.
• I wouldn't doubt that there are Al Quaeda, Hamas, Jamiyat-e-Islami and many other terrorists among the native Iraqis on the ground in Iraq today.

The investigation should be interesting. I'll be watching for it.

Posted by Mitch at March 25, 2003 07:46 AM