A short rant...
2003-11-18 19:46The US Army is destroying houses they suspect are being used by insurgents in Iraq.
Billmon has a good post up, detailing how this not only contravenes the Geneva Conventions (so, how many times have they [1] done that this year?) but is also monumentally stupid from a strategic point of view:
[1]Or should I say we, given that British forces are involved in the war too. Though I've yet to see any indication that Brits have been directly involved in anything this dumb.
Billmon has a good post up, detailing how this not only contravenes the Geneva Conventions (so, how many times have they [1] done that this year?) but is also monumentally stupid from a strategic point of view:
Kicking women and children into the street on five minutes notice before blowing up their homes is a pretty feeble counterinsurgency tactic. On the other hand, it's a superb strategy for promoting group solidarity among Sunni Iraqis, further inflaming global anti-Americanism [...] and convincing the Arab world that Iraq really is just another Palestine writ large. All in all, a welcome shot in the arm for the Al Qaeda recruitment office.It's becoming ever more clear that the only real post-invasion planning was "...and they'll all live happily ever after"
[1]Or should I say we, given that British forces are involved in the war too. Though I've yet to see any indication that Brits have been directly involved in anything this dumb.