Like Fish in the Sea

That's how Chairman Mao described guerilla fighters. It's true whether they're "Freedom Fighters" (yours), or "insurgents" (theirs). Gary Brecher has the best article on the subject vis-a-vis Iraq that I've seen lately. Via AlterNet.

If you've been following guerrilla wars as long as I have, you have to laugh when you hear Army PR guys say that the Iraqi insurgents are just a teeny-tiny bad apple in a big barrel of shiny Red Delicious Iraqis. One bad apple -- that little beady-eyed Al Qaeda operative Zarqawi -- is supposedly responsible for the whole mess. Sorry, folks, but insurgencies just don't work that way.

Of course, you can't blame US Army guys for doing their job -- lying to the press. But you sure can blame the press for buying it. I can't believe how pig-ignorant reporters are about the basics of guerrilla warfare This planet has been bursting with guerrilla wars for the past century, but the perky, smiley guys 'n' gals reporting from Iraq still know more about hair spray and "Dating Do's & Don'ts" than they do about urban warfare.

Guerrillas start from scratch. They need to collect the materials for a bomb, put it in place, and set it off without attracting attention. Imagine doing that in a crowded, noisy Baghdad street and you'll see that it wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of everybody in the neighborhood, from the Radio Shack guy who donates the trigger to the granny on the corner, timing the US patrols as she waves sweetly at the GIs.

Our GIs may not be able to tell the difference between an Iraqi and a Saudi or Chechen, but the pro-American Iraqi cops sure can. So the only job these foreign jihadis are really fit for is suicide car-bomb drivers. The insurgents keep the foreign jihadis under wraps until the target convoy comes into view. Then you just put him in the driver's seat and point him at the target.

Contrary to what the dumb-ass press keeps saying, the leaders don't need to "fuel" the insurrection. It's got all the fuel it needs. The Iraqis, not just the Sunnis either, are so pissed-off by now that the real leaders' job is mostly persuading the hotheads to take it slow, plan their attacks.

If about 65 attacks per day is "taking it slow", I hope the leaders don't cut 'em loose anytime soon.

Do not miss this article.