Mark Phillips: The American Question

10/22/03: Peoples' War.

Has Iraqi resistance entered a new phase?

That attack began when a group of women and children motioned to a patrol of Humvees to stop. As soon as several soldiers got out of the vehicles, which had mounted machine guns, Iraqi men with AK-47 assault rifles fired several shots at them. When the soldiers returned fire, jumped back inside their vehicles and started to drive away, hundreds of Iraqis on the street, in alleys and on rooftops opened fire with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.

'It was a setup from the get-go,' said Capt. Stacey Corn, the patrol's troop commander. 'We've been here for six months. They've had a long time to plan. They've 'reconned' us -- they knew when we saw women and children asking for help, we're going to stop.'

Corn said he now feels betrayed by ordinary Iraqis, who were on the street that night but did nothing to warn the patrol.

The attack described by these soldiers could not have taken place without the unanimous support of the people living in the neighborhood where it occurred. It required planning, coordination, resolve, and secrecy. It's an indication that resistance to the occupation has achieved or is close to achieving mass support, at least in some areas of the country.

What will "peoples' war" look like in an Islamic country? Maybe something like this.

Support our troops! Bring them home now!

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