The Iraqi Non-Insurgency

Donald Sensing over at One Hand Clapping posts a report from David High, a Marine Major recently returned from Iraq. It contains important information on the nature of the "non-insurgency."

An excerpt:

There is not a web of like-minded (much less amenable) patriots gaining succor and inspiration from the populace. There are a thousand disparate cabals and petit punks and opportunists, each with competing motivations and interests. A water truck leaving a coalition base may be fired upon by a host of various suspects. The “usual suspects” rounded up may include:

1) a 17-year-old who was paid $50,

2) a competitor of the truck’s owner who covets his contract,

3) a local tribesman who resents the presence of another affiliate,

4) a garden-variety criminal out to steal the truck, or embezzle the business,

5) a former Ba’athist apparatchik fearing the end of his gravy train,

6) a Jihadist from Yemen or Saudi Arabia or Egypt hoping to please God, or

7) an Iraqi, proud and nationalistic, believing the US is on a craven crusade to plunder his country’s oil and rich culture.

The permutations are endless and motivations intertwined....

Read the whole thing here.