Why the Surge Didn't Work

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I know it's long but a good read

Following are parts of an interview done last Aug. 27 by Sigyn Meder of Swedish Iraq Solidarity with knowledgeable Iraqi exile Abdul Ilah al-Bayaty at his home in Le Feyt in the Auvergne region of France. Though the interview [is over two months old, it still adds insight to more recent events in Iraq exposing the difficulty Washington has imposing a Status of Forces Agreement on the Iraqis. It also debunks the false claims the Bush administration has made that the so-called surge of U.S. forces has stabilized the occupation. Al-Bayaty, a Ba’ath Party organizer in the 1960s, played a leading role in August with a group of anti-war activists who drafted the Le Feyt proposal for a peace agreement that would end the occupation of Iraq. (See Global Research Iraq Dossier for the Le Feyt Declaration.)
Abdul Ilah al-Bayaty

Sigyn Meder: According to the election propaganda of the Bush administration and in the media, “security is increasing day by day” in Iraq. What is the reality of the situation?

Abdul Ilah al-Bayaty: For whom is security increasing? The American troops are changing tactics, avoiding movements on the roads and land, letting Iraqi troops do the ground work—at the same time the U.S. provides air support. Some 1,700 people were killed during the last two months during American-Iraqi offensive operations.

What kind of security exists when thousands of people are arrested in connection with offensives against Mosul, Basra, Baghdad and other cities? What kind of security exists when American troops can hardly leave the Green Zone?

It is not just a military question—it concerns clean water, food, being able to go to school, meet friends, travel. It is about having a normal life. What kind of security is it to live closed-in behind the high walls that the occupation power builds around neighborhoods in Baghdad and around whole towns in Iraq or when people are exposed to bombings, military offensives and mass arrests? There is no security. There is no normal life.


Meder: Would you comment on the Status of Forces Agreement being discussed by the United States and the puppet regime?

[edit on 22-11-2008 by Shocka]


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[edit on 23/11/08 by Jbird]