Thursday, March 27, 2003
Why are they fighting us?
One stated purpose of the war with Iraq is to free the Iraqi people from Saddam's tyranny. Yet, for every report we hear of thankful Iraqi's welcoming Coalition Forces we hear a report of Iraqi's opposing our forces. This sucks. I like seeing pictures of Iraqi's tearing down pictures of Saddam in celebration instead of fighting the Coaltion forces or looking at them with scorn.
The reason why they are fighting us are complicated and on multiple levels...Social, Political, Religious, Economic.
I briefly will try to explain why Iraqis are fighting us.
1. The Loyalist.
These are the Iraqi elites. Most are members of the ruling Baath Party. Some have close and personal ties to Saddam Hussein, thousands of others benefit from Saddam being in power. The status quo has benefited them, they have the most to lose if the coaltion defeats Iraq. They also have first hand knowledge of what Saddam does to traitors. This is why they fight.
2. The Cultist.
Saddam Hussein has cultivated his image into a gargantuan Cult of Personality. Iraqi people have been indoctrinated for years of a bigger than life, godlike Saddam. He has tried to make himself synonomous with Iraq, to represent the glory and history of the Iraqi people. Saddam is their Protector, Saddam is their Father figure, Saddam is thier Leader. Years of this kind of brain washing has had it's effect. Like all successful cult leaders, Saddam has followers that will do anything for him. This is why they fight.
3. The Patriot.
Some of these harbor no love for Saddam, others are indifferent towards Saddam's regime, but they will all fight to defend Iraq from what they see as invasion from outsiders. They feel Iraq is a soverieign nation and they will fight to defend it against outsiders. They may see the outsiders as imperialist, or hungry for Iraq's oil. Simple pride is reason enough for them to fight. They have grown used to living under Saddam's tyranny and are afraid of change. When these people see Coalition bombs hitting civilians and causing problems for Iraqi people they are not happy. When they see thier country being invaded by westerners and see Iraqis surrendering to westerners they feel ashamed and humiliated. This is why they fight.
4. The Religious Zealot.
These are people who want Islam to defeat the infidels. Luckily Iraq is not full of these kind of people but there are some and the number is growing. A fringe group of these are in Northern Iraq but they are not part of Saddam's Regime or even Iraqi's.
5. Forced to Fight.
I have been hearing news reports that Saddam's thugs have been forcing Iraqi's to fight under the penalty of death to them and thier families. This is very sad and horrific. I feel sorry for them, they are really caught between a rock and a hard place.
The upside to this is that the number of people in Iraq welcoming the Coalition far out numbers the ones fighting the Coalition.
One stated purpose of the war with Iraq is to free the Iraqi people from Saddam's tyranny. Yet, for every report we hear of thankful Iraqi's welcoming Coalition Forces we hear a report of Iraqi's opposing our forces. This sucks. I like seeing pictures of Iraqi's tearing down pictures of Saddam in celebration instead of fighting the Coaltion forces or looking at them with scorn.
The reason why they are fighting us are complicated and on multiple levels...Social, Political, Religious, Economic.
I briefly will try to explain why Iraqis are fighting us.
1. The Loyalist.
These are the Iraqi elites. Most are members of the ruling Baath Party. Some have close and personal ties to Saddam Hussein, thousands of others benefit from Saddam being in power. The status quo has benefited them, they have the most to lose if the coaltion defeats Iraq. They also have first hand knowledge of what Saddam does to traitors. This is why they fight.
2. The Cultist.
Saddam Hussein has cultivated his image into a gargantuan Cult of Personality. Iraqi people have been indoctrinated for years of a bigger than life, godlike Saddam. He has tried to make himself synonomous with Iraq, to represent the glory and history of the Iraqi people. Saddam is their Protector, Saddam is their Father figure, Saddam is thier Leader. Years of this kind of brain washing has had it's effect. Like all successful cult leaders, Saddam has followers that will do anything for him. This is why they fight.
3. The Patriot.
Some of these harbor no love for Saddam, others are indifferent towards Saddam's regime, but they will all fight to defend Iraq from what they see as invasion from outsiders. They feel Iraq is a soverieign nation and they will fight to defend it against outsiders. They may see the outsiders as imperialist, or hungry for Iraq's oil. Simple pride is reason enough for them to fight. They have grown used to living under Saddam's tyranny and are afraid of change. When these people see Coalition bombs hitting civilians and causing problems for Iraqi people they are not happy. When they see thier country being invaded by westerners and see Iraqis surrendering to westerners they feel ashamed and humiliated. This is why they fight.
4. The Religious Zealot.
These are people who want Islam to defeat the infidels. Luckily Iraq is not full of these kind of people but there are some and the number is growing. A fringe group of these are in Northern Iraq but they are not part of Saddam's Regime or even Iraqi's.
5. Forced to Fight.
I have been hearing news reports that Saddam's thugs have been forcing Iraqi's to fight under the penalty of death to them and thier families. This is very sad and horrific. I feel sorry for them, they are really caught between a rock and a hard place.
The upside to this is that the number of people in Iraq welcoming the Coalition far out numbers the ones fighting the Coalition.
