Retired Marine General calls Iraq a “quagmire”
“<Retired Gen. William> Nash is reluctant to make comparisons with Vietnam: ‘There are far more things that were different about Vietnam than there are similarities. Except perhaps the word “quagmire“. Maybe that is the only thing that is the same.’
Nash said the US had ‘failed to understand the mindset and attitudes of the Iraqi people and the depth of hostility towards the US in much of the country’.
‘It is much greater and deeper than just the consequences of war,’ he added. ‘It comes from 12 years of sanctions, Israel and Palestinians, and a host of issues.’
As a result, he says, ‘we are now seeing the re-emergence of a reasonably organized military opposition – small scale, but it could escalate.’
Nash made these comments on June 27. Things have indeed escalated rapidly since then.
“Recent Iraqi attacks on U.S. troops have demonstrated a new tactical sophistication and coordination that raise the specter of the U.S. occupation force becoming enmeshed in a full-blown guerrilla war, military experts said yesterday.
The increase in the use of mortars in recent attacks is especially troubling, military experts noted, because it indicates a previously unseen level of organization in the Iraqi resistance. Unlike more portable arms such as AK-47 rifles, mortars are heavy weapons that need to be stored, moved, fired, then broken down and quickly moved again. Military organizations using mortars tend to operate in teams of at least 10, noted one specialist in infantry tactics. “That means a leader and a plan,” he said.”