OtC
Thanks for that. In answer to your question: ‘what would I do…?’ I imagine I would melt into the general population as you say…but to me the situation is more complex than the simplistic one you suggest. I am not certain that I would put too much reliance on their having a ‘home side advantage’ in the same way that the VC had in their struggle with the US. There, they were homogenous in ethnicity and had a common purpose. Iraq does not have a common ethnic population and they are deeply divided as to branches of religion and purpose…your other examples are dubious as well with the possible exception of the Roman example. There are a number of instances and areas where the coalition forces are found to be welcome However…that there is a mess is not in dispute and it looks increasingly likely that the US cannot leave immediately for a host of reasons, the main ones being that the thug element would claim that they had defeated a superpower and al Qaeda (aQ) will benefit as a result…the likelihood of greater instability in that region would almost inevitably increase. If one reads as much of the information that comes in instead of selecting those that support one’s particular prejudices, a different picture begins to emerge.
I am not all that certain that the majority of Iraqis actually want the US to pull out because of the dangers of a civil war and the resultant fragmentation that would occur.
Sunnis are naturally 100% pissed off about being marginalized (the dissolution of the army, police and political organs were seen as the manifestations of this marginalisation) and for that, Mr Paul Bremner, is entirely to blame. I think the US has realised that mistakes have been made aplenty and have taken steps to redress the problem (they have started to involve the Sunnis and a rumoured to be in dialogue with some of the resistance groups..directly or through third parties I am less able to say). So for me, OtC, the problem is less simple and more complex than that suggested in you mail.
Thank you.
NC43