Fewer Casualties in Iraq Shouldn’t Be Attributed Only To the “Surge”

John F. McManus
John Birch Society
February 22, 2008

Though U.S. casualties in Iraq have been fewer in recent months, our forces are still suffering. On February 21, U.S. military leaders announced the deaths of five soldiers and one Marine. The six men died in four separate incidents scattered all over the beleaguered country, and numerous companions were wounded in the roadside bomb and rocket attacks. Obviously, fewer dead and wounded doesn't mean no dead and wounded. The addition of tens of thousands of American troops in what has been termed the "surge" can be partly credited for lower death totals, but ultimate pacification in Iraq lies in the hands of the religious leaders and their private armies.

Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr controls the large Mahdi Army. In past years, he sensed that U.S. forces were aiding rival Sunni Muslims so he sent his forces against American troops in an undeclared war beginning in 2004. Even though he has kept his word during the current six-month-old ceasefire, he nevertheless has the power to unleash his private army against our nation's troops at any time. As a reminder of their substantial clout, thousands of Mahdi Army troops, unarmed and dressed in green and black uniforms, marched through Sadr City on February 21st.

Many here in the U.S consider General David Petraeus a military genius because the casualty figures have been lowered since his recommendation for a "surge" has been implemented. But while the increase in troop levels sought by the Establishment-connected general (he holds membership in the Council on Foreign Relations) can't be discounted as a contributor to the lowering of U.S. dead and wounded totals, the decisions made by both Shiite and Sunni leaders have been more pivotal.

Shiites and Sunnis have been enemies for centuries. If either sect's leader believes the U.S. is favoring his religious adversary, American forces will be targeted. Military groups allied with the Sunnis, aided by U.S. troops, have been fighting against al-Qaeda forces within Iraq and not fighting our nation's forces. But Al-Qaeda continues to grow precisely because of the U.S. presence throughout the Middle East. Because these terrorist warriors are predominantly Shiites who are being targeted by the American-trained and -armed Sunnis, a revival of attacks on America's troops by the Shiites' Mahdi Army cannot be ruled out.

The American presence in Iraq has to be brought to a close. Our forces are right in the middle of long-standing sectarian strife they can't solve and should not be asked to referee.