Phantom Fury in Fallujah

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http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/111804Z.shtml

Phantom Fury in Fallujah

By Ibrahim Kazerooni
The Denver Post

Tuesday 16 November 2004

"Phantom Fury" is the perfect name for the latest U.S.-led assault on Fallujah, but not for the reasons the marketing wizards at the Pentagon might think.

While creating the perception that the insurgents in Iraq are being defeated, Phantom Fury is likely to have the opposite effect, just like all the other, long-forgotten offensives since April 2003.

The other military offensives, with decisive-sounding names like "Operation Iron Fist," occurred at a rate of about one every two months. And, each time, the Pentagon assured us the insurgency would be crushed.

Yet with each succeeding month, the insurgency grew and became more sophisticated. U.S. and Iraqi government casualties only increased.

Iraq's history is well-known: Iraqis will fight to the death all foreign invaders, including those claiming to be liberators.

But for those who continue to believe the Bush administration's rosy assertions that things are getting better, I can assure you of this: The situation in Iraq is much worse than you think and it will deteriorate further. As a U.S. diplomat stationed in Baghdad said in the Sept. 20 Newsweek magazine, "All hell is breaking loose."

Yet, I agree with those who say Iraq is not Vietnam. In reality, Iraq is more like Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979 or Lebanon after Israel's conquest in 1982.

The Soviets fought a draining guerrilla insurgency in Afghanistan for a decade before turning tail, while Israel bogged down in Lebanon for nearly 20 years prior to its withdrawal.......