Lessons from the 12-year imperialist suppression campaign against Iraq
The recent 22-day attack by US and UK troops Iraq was but the height of 12 years of oppression and suffering imposed by US imperialism. The attackers used their absolute superiority in terms of military power to defeat a small country that they had been punishing for more than a decade and which had likewise been in resistance for more than 10 years.
The US used tanks and bombs to attack and defeat Iraq. The attack culminated in the entry of American troops into Baghdad and their control of the national capital.
The more than a thousand Iraqis killed American troops in their relentless bombing sorties and shooting sprees in Baghdad and other cities were in addition to the more than 150,000 killed during the 1991 bombings and the more than 1.5 million Iraqis who later died due to the merciless US embargo on the entry of food, medicine and other essential needs of the Iraqi people.
In almost all towns and cities seized by the invaders, the latter were resisted by Iraqi soldiers and militia who used even inferior weapons. But the Iraqi soldiers' armed resistance did not endure. It was grossly lopsided fight in terms of weaponry, a fact that the Iraqi government failed to overcome through good leadership and the mobilization of what could have been an even more powerful resistance mounted by the people.
From this experience, we can draw the following lessons:
- The Hussein regime firmly resisted US imperialism for more than a decade and did not capitulate. But the regime failed to arouse and unite the people for the patriotic defense of the country.
- Many loyal soldiers and people fought for their country. But the government and the political leadership in Iraq were wanting in terms of preparing a broad, firm and intelligent military defense relying on a combination of regular and guerrilla warfare through the regular armed forces, irregular militia forces and the armed citizenry.
- There were some spontaneous actions by the Iraqi people. But there was no organized mass movement and no effective leadership that would have given direction to the mobilization of millions of people in militant and pointed unarmed struggles against the invaders and occupying forces, in combination with armed struggle.
- The invaders used the divisive tactic of firing up ethnic and religious divisions that ran long and deep. Though imbued with a strong sense of patriotism against the US occupation forces, the Kurd leaders were directly utilized by the US to overthrow the Hussein regime.
| The Iraqi people have no other recourse but to resist US imperialism and its reactionary puppet coconspirators through revolutionary means. |
The invaders' exploitation of such divisions could have been avoided through efforts to resolve the contradictions between the government and those opposed to it to form a national united front against the imperialist attack and colonization of Iraq. Such unity would have had to include the various ethnic groups and groups opposed to the Hussein regime.
- The fulfillment of all tasks related to resisting the imperialist armed invasion can only be guaranteed by the existence of a revolutionary proletariat that could unite the entire people, lead their revolutionary movement and provide good direction in defending the motherland.
Because of weaknesses with respect to these important factors, the resistance put up by the armed forces and the Iraqi people soon gave way in the face of the vastly more powerful military strength of the invaders.
Although the US was able to overthrow the Hussein regime in Iraq and is now installing as its successor a colonial and eventually a neocolonial regime in the name of "Iraqi Freedom", the fight is far from over.
Anti-US rallies are advancing in the various cities of Iraq. In Baghdad no less, tens of thousands rallied on April 18, with the reverberating cry to expel American troops from their country. The American troops are severely isolated.
On April 15, simultaneous with a meeting held to set up the colonial government, thousands of Iraqis rallied against it in the city of Nasiriyah. They condemned plans to establish a government to be headed by a retired American general and manned by hundreds of other American generals, bureaucrats and other Pentagon proteg�s.
Meanwhile, on April 19, the Arab nations unanimously issued a statement calling for the exit of American troops from Iraq. They oppose measures that would give the US control over the Iraqi oil industry.
US imperialism will only further its exploitation and oppression of the Iraqi people and contradictions between the Iraqi people and US imperialism will further intensify. The Iraqi people have no other recourse but to resist US imperialism and its reactionary puppet coconspirators through revolutionary means. Under correct revolutionary leadership, the Iraqi people can successfully resist US imperialist rule and that of its puppets, resist their exploitation and oppression and attain national liberation, democracy and development for their society.
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