The Reality of War

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There is no doubt in anyone's mind at this point that the US is once again actively at war in Iraq. This time the US is not fighting the forces of Saddam Hussein. This time it is fighting the people of Iraq. It is not surprising that the Pentagon promotes the idea that Hussein's agents are behind the attacks (NYT, 4/29). That is obviously more palatable than the people of Iraq trying to force out an occupation army. The Pentagon argues that Hussein's secret service (known as M-14) are behind the roadside bombings. According to the article:

The contents of the report (Special Analysis from the Joint Intelligence Task Force) were either quoted directly or summarized by five United States government officials and military officers who had read it. It provides a more detailed portrait of the insurgency. In the past, American officials have typically described the insurgents as a rudderless guerrilla movement of foreign fighters, Islamic jihadists, former Baathists, and common criminals. The report does not address the question of how broad-based support for the insurgency is.

It is interesting to point back to Hussein as the enemy even though he is (purportedly) in custody, and the Ba'athists have been removed from control. Now we have the ghost hand of Hussein opearating through M-14 though one might wonder to what end.

It is also important that the Administration and its lackeys continue to refer to the people involved in attacks on the coalition forces as insurgents. It is as sneaky a term as enemy combatant. If you note in the definition below, insurgents are not subject to the "laws of war." Therefore the US can operate without consideration for the laws of war, and those injured, killed, or captured are also not protected by the Geneva Convention. Now that has already proven to be a nifty slight of hand by the US - both for US citizens, and for those detained at Guantanamo and elsewhere.

Note also that an insurgent is in revolt against civil authority or an established government. Interestingly, the use of insurgent falls apart at this point as there is neither in Iraq ... unless the US IS the "established government.

from Merriam-Webster Online insurgent 1 : a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government; especially : a rebel not recognized as a belligerent

belligerent 1 : waging war; specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war

So the US is attacking "insurgents" in Falluja and Najaf and elsewhere. Gun ships have dropped 500 and 1000 pound "smart bombs" (laser guided bombs or LGB). Just what are these things and how much damage are they supposed to cause?

According to a February 18,2004 report at Iraq Occupation Watch - Pentagon distorted Iraqi casualty issue, says new report (Part 3) - the explosive element in the LGB's is tritonal - asouped up TNT that is 20% more powerful per pond than regular TNT. That means that a 500 pound bomb has the explosive capacity of 600 pounds of TNT and the 1000 pounder that of 1200 pounds of TNT. Most everything within 20 meters of a 500 pound LGB will be destroyed or significantly damaged. This bomb will leave a crater about 25 feet across and 8.5 feet deep. The "safe distance" (per military spec) is approximately 500 meters and even "protected" troops are in danger at 220 meters from a 500 pound LGB. The precision of these munitions is questionable as they have a 95% accuracy rate in optimal conditions. That means they hit within about 18 feet of their target 95% of the time.

However, battle conditions are not optimal conditions. In a technical report at GlobalSecurity.org (Laser Guided Bombs, GlobalSecurity.org), they note:

The effects of smoke, dust, and debris can impair the use of laser-guided munitions. The reflective scattering of laser light by smoke particles may present false targets. Rain, snow, fog, and low clouds can prevent effective use of laser-guided munitions. Heavy precipitation can limit the use of laser designators by affecting line-of-sight. Snow on the ground can produce a negative effect on laser-guided munition accuracy. Fog and low clouds will block the laser-guided munition seeker's field of view which reduces the guidance time. This reduction may affect the probability of hit.

So when there is a bombing run such as was shown on TV last night and the night before, it seems likely that the accuracy level will drop far below 95%.

The ongoing battle in Falluja has turned the soccer field into a makeshift cemetary. In a chilling sign of how the deaths from the conflict are perceived, the Falluja Sports Stadium is now called the Falluja Martyr's Cemetary (Siege Defined on Stones Set in Haste in the Dirt, Hauser, NYT, 4/29/04). Many women and children lie buried there and the people have dug trenches to receive more of the dead. They have not been able to recover all of the dead for burial because of the ongoing fighting.

The Iraqi police in Falluja have taken on the role of trying to keep the people of Falluja away from the American troops. The police (unlike many in Falluja and the US military) are unarmed.

It is interesting that the press statements out of Iraq rarely mention "collateral damage" anymore. The reports are of dead insurgents and not of children and bystanders. I suspect that every male from 12 to 90 who is killed is reported as an insurgent. The impression management team continues to project the image of "precision" and control. My guess that is far from the case. As conflict spreads and the US desires quick resolution, the bombing missions will likely escalate and the size of the bombs used will escalate, and the number of dead and permanently damaged will escalate, and for sure the hatred of the US both inside and outside Iraq will also escalate.

The US troops are frayed, to say the least. Rotations have been extended and extended again. There are troops being placed on their second tour in Iraq at this point and many of them were in Afghanistan before that. This leads to erratic behavior at best. As was presented on 60 Minutes II 4/29/04 report Abuse Of Iraqi POWs By GIs Probed, 17 soldiers and a brigadere general who were responsible for guarding POWS are up for court martial after pictures of the torture of those prisoners was verfied by the photos the offenders took. The abuse occured at Abu Ghraib prison - the same prison that Hussein used and with the same results - indefinite detentions, and massive abuse. It is no wonder that an apparently growing number of Iraqi's are beginning to wonder if trading the evil Hussein for the "Great Satan" was such a good bargain.

This is the reality of the war in Iraq. Dead on all sides. Destruction everywhere. Abuse apparently widespread, and no civil authority to protect citizens from "common criminals."

Posted by rowan at April 29, 2004 08:07 PM | TrackBack | Printable Version | [eMail this article!] |