Terrorism In Iraq Does Not Equate With Civil War

Army Maj. Gen. Caldwell is the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq and makes some excellent points in Why We Persevere.

One of those points that should be considered by all the armchair generals ensconced in Fort Living Room stateside, is the absence of struggle to hold and maintain territory in Iraq by the various factions responsible for the bloodshed.

I don't see terrorist and criminal elements mounting campaigns for territory. Al-Qaeda in Iraq doesn't use roadside bombs, suicidal mass murderers and rocket barrages to gain and hold ground. Extremist Shiite death squads don't shoot people in the back of the head to further their control of the government. I do see random executions seeking to instill fear and insecurity. I don't see a struggle between armies and aligned political parties competing to rule.

I studied civil wars at West Point and at the Army Command and Staff College. I respect the credentials and opinions of those who want to hang that label here. But I respectfully -- and strongly -- disagree. I see the Iraqi people suffering from overlapping terrorist campaigns by extremist groups combined with the mass criminality that too often accompanies the sudden toppling of a dictatorship. This poses a different military challenge than does a civil war.

Hat tip to American Daughter Media