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US forces in Iraq use French anti-insurgency methods
Baquba, Iraq (AFP) July 28, 2008 The US military has adopted tactics first used by French soldiers more than 50 years ago in Algeria, as it seeks to subdue Al-Qaeda remnants in one of Iraq's most violent cities. By dividing communities into small sectors and putting informants in charge, American forces are using anti-insurgency methods invented by France during Algeria's war of independence. But in battling the followers of Al-Qaeda in Baquba northeast of Baghdad, as well as elsewhere in Iraq, American commanders say they refrain from another practice commonplace during the Algerian war -- torture. "What we are doing in Iraq is inspired by what the French did in Algeria in the fight against the insurgency" between 1954 and 1962, an adviser to the US State Department told AFP on condition of anonymity. Captain Kevin Ryan, the US officer in charge of the pacification of Baquba, a former Al-Qaeda stronghold, confirmed the French influence. Aerial photos on the wall of his office show the city divided into dozens of rectangular areas which are themselves subdivided into smaller blocks, where key contacts and informants can be found. Soldiers patrol each of these areas, going house to house and searching not only those thought to be suspicious but also to interview residents about the supply of basic needs such as electricity, water and work. "We make files on everything and feed this information back to our superiors," said Lieutenant Aries Rebugio, who heads one patrol unit. Constantly on the alert, his men move slowly through Baquba's deserted streets, past the sports club, the police station and the house of the Sahwa, the "Awakening" group formed by Sunni insurgents to fight Al-Qaeda. This urban sweep strategy is clearly seen in Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 classic war film "The Battle of Algiers," which is also shown to American soldiers for training and which Captain Ryan routinely cites. The real battle of Algiers allowed the French to take control of the Algerian capital, but it exacted a heavy political price. In Baquba attacks by Al-Qaeda militants have decreased in frequency, but the damaged buildings, pot-holed streets and piles of rubbish attest to the intensity of the fighting that led to the city being practically abandoned. Because security has now improved Ryan said it was time to begin rebuilding Baquba, the capital of Diyala, one of Iraq's most dangerous provinces. "We want to stabilise people's lives and provide them with income," he said, citing concerns that destroyed factories used to provide at least 2,000 jobs in the city and that unemployment could fuel further unrest. Meanwhile, back in Baghdad's heavily fortified US enclave, another American military official interviewed by AFP made reference to the Roger Trinquier book "Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency." Trinquier, a veteran of the wars in Algeria and Indochina, said that "the essential means to winning in modern warfare is to ensure the unconditional support of the people." Even the current highest-ranking American officer in Iraq, General David Petraeus, likes to refer to French experts, and has made officer David Galula's "Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice" mandatory reading. "To deprive the insurgent of his cause means solving the basic problems of the country," wrote the Algerian War veteran who later taught at Harvard University. But the parallel ends with the use of violence to extract information, a practice advocated by Trinquier and used by French units in Algeria. "There is a difference -- we do not torture," said Ryan, even though the US forces remain tarnished by the 2004 torture scandal at Abu Ghraib prison. Abu Ghraib became infamous after the publication of photographs showing Iraqi detainees being humiliated and abused by their US guards. The scandal led to the sentencing of 11 US soldiers to up to 10 years in prison. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US: Iraq deal may have many dates
Washington (AFP) July 22, 2008The White House said Tuesday that a planned US-Iraq strategic deal may lay out a series of target dates for handing Iraqis control over security in different parts of their war-torn country. |
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