Vol. 71/No. 36      October 1, 2007

In a September 13 speech, Bush supported Petraeus’ recommendation to Congress days earlier to reduce U.S. troops in Iraq to their “pre-surge level”—from 20 to 15 combat brigades—over the next nine months. “Long-term U.S. ground force viability will benefit” from such a drawdown, said Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq. Both he and Bush warned against “premature” troop reductions and made no further projections.

Petraeus said his recommendation was based on the progress U.S. and allied forces have made on the ground in weakening al-Qaeda.

Since last January, when Washington launched the largest escalation of the war since the 2003 invasion —what the rulers call a surge—more and more Sunni tribal factions have joined occupation forces in fighting al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda’s brutality against civilians of all backgrounds has earned it a growing hatred. This, along with the group’s disruption of commerce, has led many bourgeois factions that had either previously allied with or tolerated al-Qaeda to now see it as their most immediate problem.

This unanticipated opening for Washington prompted the occupying army to redefine its allies and adjust its tactics. Petraeus called this change “the most significant development of the past eight months.”

The U.S. military has increasingly recruited and assisted these Sunni forces, many of which previously fought the occupation. As a result, a number of Sunni tribal leaders outside Baghdad are gaining influence in the provinces as they drive al-Qaeda out.

Competition for power and resources among wealthy layers in Iraq remains deeply divided along national, tribal, and religious lines, and this development helps fuel the process toward greater regional autonomy in the country. Three-quarters of Iraqis belong to one of 150 tribes. Iraqi Kurdistan has been largely autonomous for some time.

Petraeus also described how U.S. ground forces are targeting “Shi’a militia extremists” he claims are supported by Iran. He accused the Iranian Republican Guard Corps’ Qods Force of arming and training insurgent Shiite militias in Iraq. “Iran, through the use of the Qods Force, seeks to turn the Iraqi Special Groups into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests,” he said. The Iraqi Special Groups militia is a faction of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army. Petraeus said coalition forces have captured fighters and leaders of such militias, including a senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative.

Iraq’s cabinet suspended the license of private military contractor Blackwater September 18 after some of its mercenaries reportedly killed at least eight civilians and wounded 13 in west Baghdad September 16. Blackwater is now restricted to the “green zone,” which includes the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government offices.

Crocker defended Blackwater, which has more than 1,000 personnel in Iraq. He said there was “simply no way” Washington could do without such agents. More than 30 U.S. security contractors have been killed, he added.

In a September 10 statement to Congress, Crocker gave one example that sheds some light on conditions faced by Iraqi working people. “Many neighborhoods in the city [Baghdad] receive two hours a day or less from the national grid,” he said. Iraq’s minister of electricity said it would take $25 billion over nine years to meet electricity demand.
 
 
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