Resistance grows in central Iraq

[John M Cox <coxj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

U.S. Soldiers Face Growing Resistance
Attacks in Central Iraq Become More Frequent and Sophisticated

By William Booth and Daniel Williams
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 10, 2003; Page A01


TIKRIT, Iraq, June 9 -- Attacks on American troops are growing in
frequency and sophistication across central Iraq, a crescent of discontent
and hostility where many Iraqis remain opposed to the U.S. occupation of
their country.

Almost every day, well-organized groups of assailants using assault
rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars are ambushing U.S. Army
convoys, patrols, checkpoints, garrisons and public offices used by troops
to interact with the civilian population.

In response, U.S. forces are trying to crush resistance through
house-to-house searches, arms seizures and deadly force, in some cases
with fatal consequences for innocent bystanders.

Army commanders say the attacks are locally planned and attribute them to
"remnants" of the Baath Party and other supporters of deposed Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein. While they describe the attacks as the work of a single
resistance group, they suspect that some armed fighters may be moving from
city to city, looking for vulnerable targets and pressuring the local
population to secretly support their activities. They say these fighters
appear to be staging hit-and-run actions designed to kill American troops,
but not engage them in firefights.

The persistence and evolution of tactics is giving the violence the
appearance of a guerrilla movement. In the last two weeks, eight U.S.
soldiers have been killed and another 25 wounded, according to Pentagon
announcements and news reports. The numbers of Iraqis killed, wounded or
apprehended number in the dozens....


full:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37082-2003Jun9.html?nav=hptop_tb

----------------------------
John Cox
Chapel Hill, NC
----------------------------
"It is necessary to say no to the identification of reality with fate, to
this fatalistic idea, which is being disseminated universally now like
poison gas, which identifies what is with what will be. One must claim the
right and the duty of imagining the future, instead of accepting it."
                               Eduardo Galeano