The incidents of violence mentioned in these pages are by no means exhaustive. These episodes are merely samples of the total anarchy and violence which reign in Iraq. Most of the victims are Iraqis—mainly security personnel, policemen and soldiers who collaborate with the U.S. military. Many civilians are also killed in the conflagration of violence raging in Iraq.
Although U.S. soldiers and marines are also killed almost on a daily basis, and repeated attacks are made on U.S. military bases, comparatively few U.S. soldiers are killed. The reason for this, is the U.S. military’s preference to stay off the streets and take shelter in the Green Zone and other ghettos of protection. It appears that the U.S. military has reconciled itself with the present trend of violence—Iraqis killing Iraqis.
The U.S. military ventures out occasionally in force, with heavy armour and air strikes. After its short expedition of destruction, the military retreats into the safety of its barracks without having succeeded in eliminating or even dislodging the fighters from their positions.
They do not remain too long in the streets of death for fear of the Mujahideen pouncing from just any direction. It is this strategy of rapid striking and swiftly retreating to the safety of bases that has enabled the anti-U.S. fighters to occupy dozens of cities and towns which have become no-go zones for the Americans and Iraqi security forces. The U.S. is desperately trying to stem the tide of its military losses, both in men and equipment. The best strategy for achieving this aim is to remain inside the Green Zone and barracks which are also nowadays coming under some heavy mortar fire. The U.S. is forced to live in the mess it has created in Iraq.
About their strategy of remaining behind the protective concrete walls of the Green Zone, the Qur’aan Majeed says:
“They with their coalition cannot fight you except from inside fortified barracks (such as the Green Zone), or from behind walls ( such as the massive concrete barriers they have erected in Baghdad).”
