Salvodor Option - Is it time to stop playing defense?

[FishForLunch]

I am sure the Democrat Senators will be outraged for the the poor "Resistance Fighters"

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Rumsfeld ready to send in Iraqi hit squads
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 10/01/2005)

The Pentagon is considering plans to train Iraqi hit squads to quash the Sunni-led insurgency and may sanction clandestine raids into Syria led by special forces.

Anxious about the course of the conflict in Iraq, the Pentagon is urgently considering extreme measures to counter the effective guerrilla campaign being waged against allied forces, senior military officials told Newsweek magazine.


Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary
"We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents," said one senior officer. "Right now, we are playing defence. And we are losing."

The scheme is one of a number being considered as Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, tries to ease the pressure on his overstretched forces.

American casualties are approaching 1,500 dead and there are worrying signs of strain in crucial back-up formations such as the reserve and the national guard, while overall recruitment is falling.

The "Salvador option" would let US special forces train those elements in Iraq who traditionally oppose Sunni dominance of the rest of the country.

It would draw on the Shias' and Kurds' battle-hardened guerrilla units, which once fought Saddam Hussein's regime.

The option is apparently inspired by memories of the Reagan-era fight against Left-wing rebels in El Salvador, which was won with the help of US-trained "death squads". They killed not only guerrillas, but also many civilians believed to be offering them support.

One military source said: "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists. From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."

The squads would also seek to kill or capture the former Saddam aides believed to be leading the insurgency and would be Iraqi-led. Newsweek says the interim administration of the prime minister, Iyad Allawi, is pressing for this more ruthless approach to Sunni guerrillas. Raids into Syria would also include Iraqi forces, but would be American-led.

An investigation by The Telegraph found that large numbers of Syrians were crossing the border to attack American forces.

Washington is angered by apparent Syrian assistance to the Iraqi guerrilla movement. The Weekly Standard, the journal of the Washington neo-conservatives, described Syria as "a hostile regime" and said: "It's time to get serious about dealing with Syria as part of winning in Iraq."

There are other signs of growing urgency in the Pentagon as the situation in Iraq worsens. Last week, Mr Rumsfeld dispatched a highly regarded four-star officer, Gen Gary Luck, to Iraq to review the entire military strategy.

Tony Blair said yesterday Britain would send a team to join the Americans in reassessing security, though it was not clear if he was referring to Gen Luck's mission. "In the key area around Baghdad there is no doubt about it at all, we have got to deal these people a blow,'' he said.

"President Bush and myself have agreed to send a team there to review the situation because the key thing is to build the capability of the Iraqi security forces."

Newsweek also said US special forces are considering greatly increasing their intelligence-gathering role, against fierce opposition from the CIA.

[Mavdog]

Rule of Law?

Establishing the institution of a Judiciary that the citizens can look to?

fuhgettaboutit.......just act like the guys in the Sopranos and start whacking civilians and such who someone somewhere feels aren't "supporting" our proxies in Iraq.

Now, about those "seeds of democracy".............seems more like the "seeds of totalitarianism".

[FishForLunch]

I forgot the sucide bombers and the head loppers have rights too!