WASHINGTON — The U.S. military faces three wars in Iraq simultaneously according to a report which recommends a strategy of targeted U.S. strikes on Al Qaida death squads.
The Center for Naval Analyses said the U.S. military faces a sectarian
war, Sunni insurgency and the threat of Al Qaida. In a report by analyst
Henry Kenny, the center said the 140,000 American troops could not wage all
three wars simultaneously.
But Kenny dismissed a troop build-up in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. Instead, the report,
entitled "Strengthening an Embattled Nation: A strategy for contending with
the three wars in Iraq," recommended a U.S. advisory mission to develop and
mentor Iraqi security forces to fight the insurgency war.
"The option, rather, would focus U.S. combat power on AQI and death
squads," the report said. "A better approach is to conduct ground or air
precision strikes against specific AQI and death squad locations. This
enables U.S. forces to concentrate resources against the most dangerous
targets-those who, more than any others, stoke the fires of chaos and civil
war."
"Iraqi forces have not developed rapidly enough, and U.S. forces simply
do not have the numbers necessary to cover the wide swaths of territory
needed to win the three wars in which they are now engaged," the report,
released in December 2006, said.
[On Tuesday, National Intelligence Director John McConnell said the
Iraq Army has fallen far short of requirements. Still, McConnell said Iraqi
troops have taken lead responsibility in some areas, including parts of
Baghdad.]
The report said any U.S. military option must account for each of the
three wars in Iraq. The center said only a force of several hundred thousand
American soldiers was capable of fighting three campaigns without Iraqi
help.
The report said 1,300 foreigners have joined Al Qaida in Iraq. Kenny
said that unlike previous assessments, the number of foreign operatives has
risen steadily.
"Iraq began to attract these jihadists in the wake of the U.S. invasion,
and their numbers have gradually increased over the years, despite the
capture and killing of several top leaders," the report said.
The report said Al Qaida provides training, organization, and money for
the Sunni insurgency. The movement has become a leading force through
foreign funding and control of the vast smuggling network in Iraq.
"For example, AQI finds it easy to buy the loyalty of corrupt local
leaders, and to pay disgruntled and impoverished young men to assemble,
place, and detonate IEDs [improvised explosive devices]," the report said.
"This threefold combination-training, organization, and money has
facilitated AQI's operations to the point where it now control the
insurgency in Ramadi, the center of the insurgency."
The report said Shi'ite forces have used U.S. equipment and training to
attack Sunnis in Iraq. Kenny said the U.S. military has failed to reverse
penetration of Iraqi security forces by Shi'ite militias.
"The civil strife, however, gives a strong impetus to AQI," the report
said. "It prevents a projected U.S. withdrawal of some forces, thereby
feeding anti-occupation sentiment and attracting additional Islamic
extremists toward the cause celebré. Finally, it enables AQI to appeal for
and receive additional financing from Muslims sympathetic to the Sunni Arab
cause in Iraq."
