12-29-2003, 10:30 AM
<b>IRAQ CONTINUES TO BLEED </b>
by B.Raman
...
18. The US and other coalition troops will continue to bleed till they are able to get a better measure of the resistance fighters and the external jihadi terrorists and their modus operandi. While the short-term prospects remain negative, the US should still be able to turn the tide in the medium and long term and soften and win over the resistance fighters if only it tries and succeeds in winning the co-operation of the estranged and sulking Iraqi elite of the Saddam days. Continued reliance on stooges could prove counter-productive.
19. As I have been repeatedly reiterating in my writings and talks, it is not in India's interest that the US fails to prevail in Iraq. Whatever its past mistakes---there have been many and of a very serious nature---some of the adversaries which it faces in Iraq post-May are India's adversaries too. Many of them were previously killing hundreds of innocent civilians in India, Russia (Chechnya) and other countries. They are now killing Americans and Iraqis. If they succeed against the US, they will receive a shot in the arm and will gravitate to other jihadi fronts, including India, with renewed confidence and heightened morale. This has to be prevented.
20. India's decision not to send troops to Iraq was the right one. We cannot afford to get involved in a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism role in a Muslim country. At the same time, we should not hesitate to consider other ways of discreetly assisting the US such as intelligence-sharing, training of the new Iraqi bureaucrats, including military, police and intelligence officers, in Indian institutions and acting discreetly as an interface between the US and the angry and sulking Iraqi elite in an attempt to bring the two together.
by B.Raman
...
18. The US and other coalition troops will continue to bleed till they are able to get a better measure of the resistance fighters and the external jihadi terrorists and their modus operandi. While the short-term prospects remain negative, the US should still be able to turn the tide in the medium and long term and soften and win over the resistance fighters if only it tries and succeeds in winning the co-operation of the estranged and sulking Iraqi elite of the Saddam days. Continued reliance on stooges could prove counter-productive.
19. As I have been repeatedly reiterating in my writings and talks, it is not in India's interest that the US fails to prevail in Iraq. Whatever its past mistakes---there have been many and of a very serious nature---some of the adversaries which it faces in Iraq post-May are India's adversaries too. Many of them were previously killing hundreds of innocent civilians in India, Russia (Chechnya) and other countries. They are now killing Americans and Iraqis. If they succeed against the US, they will receive a shot in the arm and will gravitate to other jihadi fronts, including India, with renewed confidence and heightened morale. This has to be prevented.
20. India's decision not to send troops to Iraq was the right one. We cannot afford to get involved in a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism role in a Muslim country. At the same time, we should not hesitate to consider other ways of discreetly assisting the US such as intelligence-sharing, training of the new Iraqi bureaucrats, including military, police and intelligence officers, in Indian institutions and acting discreetly as an interface between the US and the angry and sulking Iraqi elite in an attempt to bring the two together.