ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - First the Pentagon plugged the movie, now President George W. Bush is reading the book.
The subject is Algeria’s war of independence against France, in which a Western power struggled with an insurgency and international opposition.
Some see disturbing parallels between Algeria in 1957 to Iraq in 2007. Others say they are different, but that there are lessons to be learned from the war that hastened the end of France’s empire.
Bush said he is reading "A Savage War of Peace," British historian Alistair Horne’s celebrated 1977 account of the war. And shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon was recommending its commanders see Gillo Pontecorvo’s movie "The Battle of Algiers."
A key difference between the two wars, historians agree, is that the Algerians did not have Iraq’s sectarian divisions. Another difference is that France treated Algeria as an integral part of its territory, with almost a million European settlers, most of whom vigorously opposed any French withdrawal.
Parallels start with the urban terror campaign launched by the FLN, Algeria’s National Liberation Front. As in Iraq, local police and administrators made easier targets.
"After the first month of the war, the FLN realized they couldn’t beat the French army, so they concentrated on soft targets," said author Horne in a telephone interview.
"It meant the French army, instead of going on the offensive, had to protect the police, and both of them - the army and the police - were to some extent neutralized. And I think this is exactly what’s happening in Iraq."
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http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Feb/20070204News016.asp
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