A Summer Of Tears
A seemingly endless wave of car bombings Leaves Many Iraqis--and Americans--in Despair
"Suiciding." Military leaders in Baghdad are pushing a new strategy to try to roll back the suicide campaign, according to senior officers. Trying to secure the border militarily, they say, is unlikely to be any more effective at stopping foreign fighters than U.S. border efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from Mexico. But American officials now are mounting diplomatic efforts to prevent bombers from ever getting to Syria. Military officials say many jihadis funnel through the Damascus international airport, since Arab men can enter Syria without a visa. American officials want U.S. allies in the region--Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia--to pressure Syria to impose visa restrictions.
The military has also begun stepping up operations in the border regions. In Operation Spear, near the Syrian border last week, marines discovered three car-bomb factories and said they killed 47 insurgents. A new mission this summer just to the north will aim to cut off the supply of suicide bombers directly. The operation, two military officials told U.S. News , aims to disrupt Zarqawi's operations and try to interfere with the flow of foreign fighters through Syria. "We are going to disrupt their ability to move," said one official, who was authorized to discuss the planning. "They will no longer have a free pass. . . . Hopefully, that will decrease the ability for suicide bombers to get to Baghdad." The idea, according to the officials, is to force a fight with Zarqawi's followers--a fight in the open desert, largely on the U.S. Army's terms. Military officials also hope that, if Iraqi forces begin providing security for residents in the area, they can stamp out popular support for the Baathist rebels. The operation will continue through the scheduled October referendum on a new constitution. "We will have that many fewer people suiciding at polling places," said another official.
The Iraqi government and American forces also need to find a way to encourage Iraqi citizens to report people they suspect of being potential bombers, Vines says. The Iraqi government has begun an information campaign that denounces the insurgency as terrorists who are slaughtering Iraqis. But Vines acknowledges that the average Iraqi remains intimidated, too afraid to risk going to the police or calling a tip line. "It is about intimidation and a lack of confidence the security forces can protect them because the insurgents are so ruthless," Vines says. "There [is a] corollary in the United States, in areas where gangs operate; they can intimidate witnesses, operate in plain view on the street, because they have intimidated residents who fear for their safety. There is an element of that now in Iraq."
Both political and military leaders believe it is essential to let the American public know they have a plan for defeating the insurgencies by bringing Sunnis into the democratic government and destroying the foreign fighters. Military officers say they cannot afford to lose public support for their efforts--or public confidence that they will succeed.
A YEAR OF CAR BOMBINGS
In Iraq, 479 car bombs have killed at least 2,174 people since the handover of sovereignty on June 28, 2004.
[key]
Single car bomb
Monthly total
Killed
Wounded
[labels]
June 28- July 2004
13 148 305
August
12 44 175
September
26 202 667
October
43 149 392
November
48 165 414
December
27 196 424
January 2005
43 237 420
February
30 252 339
March
36 98 281
April
65 173 568
May
77 317 896
June 1-23
60 193 639
The Associated Press count, through June 23, is based on reports gathered in Baghdad from police, military, and hospital officials.
Further reports from Iraq appear at www.usnews.com.
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