Resistance continues
Iraqis ambush U.S. occupation forces
NO blood for oil--bring GIs home now!
By Sara Flounders
Iraqis are resisting colonial occupation in
Iraq.
"These have been some of the bloodiest times for U.S. forces
in Iraq since the end of the war," ABCNews.com reported May 28,
"and there are few signs that the situation is going to get
better anytime soon."
In Fallujah, several Iraqis in a pickup truck opened fire at
a U.S. military checkpoint on May 27, killing two troops and
wounding nine. One witness said the firefight lasted four
hours. (AP)
When the gun battle ended, a U.S. helicopter and Bradley
fighting vehicle lay in wreckage. One Iraqi man held up a piece
of the helicopter to ABCNews. "Let Mr. Bush see this," he
said.
The mood in Fallujah, a working-class town on the outskirts
of Baghdad of 200,000--many of whom had jobs in
government-built factories before the imperialist war
destruction--is especially angry. On April 28 and 30, U.S.
soldiers fired into protest rallies, killing a reported total
of 18 civilians and wounding dozens.
In its coverage of the Fallujah firefight, the May 28 New
York Times quotes a man it identifies as a brigadier in the
disbanded Iraqi Republican Guard: "Mr. Zobai said guerrilla
teams had been formed to exact revenge on American forces."
The article also quotes an enraged farmer. "The Americans
have really hurt us," he said. "They didn't come here to give
us liberty, or free us. They came here to invade us.
"We want to be free. We can govern ourselves. A million
Saddam Husseins would be better than having one American
soldier in our streets."
Not an isolated incident
Hours after the Fallujah gun battle, two U.S. military
police were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a
Baghdad police station.
On May 25 there were three separate ambushes against U.S.
troops in Baghdad--all along the highway between the city
center and the airport.
Each attack used a different tactic.
A mine was placed on the highway and detonated as a Humvee
with four soldiers drove past. All four were wounded.
Hours later someone dropped a grenade from an overpass.
Later a Humvee with three military police officers hit a
trip wire, triggering an explosion. No injuries were
reported.
On May 26, one soldier was killed and another wounded when
their convoy was ambushed in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, a land
mine destroyed a vehicle, killing one soldier and wounding
three.
Several other acts of resistance to the occupiers
failed.
Some U.S. intelligence sources are brushing off these
attacks as a "last gasp" of former Iraqi resistance. But
according to ABCNews, "Some commanders say privately they
believe the recent attacks are a sign that opposition to
American troops is getting more organized." (May 28)
What is clear is that anger at the occupation is deepening,
evidenced by the sheer number of demonstrations and protests in
recent weeks as tens of thousands of Iraqis have taken to the
streets in political protests to demand an end to
occupation.
They have also demanded payment of pensions and long overdue
paychecks, distribution of food and restoration of
electricity.
After the recent announcement by U.S. civil administrator L.
Paul Bremer III officially disbanding the national army, Iraqi
soldiers reportedly marched on a U.S. command center demanding
their back pay. And they reminded the occupiers that all of
them still had their weapons at home.
There are already reports that many U.S. soldiers in Iraq
are angry at being kept there after having been promised they
would be sent home at the end of the war. The Pentagon generals
are sacrificing the lives of young women and men in an illegal
and brutal occupation that has not an iota of justification.
The international movement against the war needs to support
this heroic resistance against occupation. The movement in the
U.S. has an added motivation for continuing the struggle. It
must save the lives of Iraqis and U.S. youth by demanding:
"Bring the troops home! U.S. out now!"
Reprinted from the June 5, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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