Only a provocateur
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1793480,00.html
Zarqawi's death will not halt the cycle of violence set in motion by
the occupation of Iraq
Jonathan Steele in Cairo
Friday June 9, 2006
The Guardian
The success of any insurgency always depends on the degree of its
popular support. In a country occupied by foreign troops and where the
government is not perceived as independent, the most powerful source of
that support is nationalism. The occupiers are the insurgents' best
recruiting tool.
These basic truths have never been taken on board sufficiently by the
Bush administration or the UK government in their dealings with Iraq.
Ignoring them was the biggest blunder in the pre-invasion period, when
it was falsely assumed most Iraqis would welcome the arrival of western
troops. Since the invasion, US commanders and politicians have
continued to underrate the extent of nationalist resentment and
resistance.
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