Assassination Squads?

by Liberty and Power

In his latest comment to me from Earth, Justin Raimondo says that the Pentagon may adopt William Lind's strategy to get the US out of Iraq, but he is rather pessimistic that will occur. Yeah!

In the meantime Newweek carries an interesting piece about the US adopting the Salvador Option.

That stands to reason as Amb. John Negroponte was Reagon's boy back then in the 1980s when the President was already conveniently forgetting about Iran-Contra, etc.

These assassination squad tactics have really never stopped since the Phoenix Squads in Vietnam and before. They are a sign of desperation, and will not"win the hearts and minds" of anyone. We now have 8 guards hovering around each member of the governing council, whatever that rubber stamp group might be.

A Prof. friend of mine reports that one of his former grad students, a former Phoenix guy, was called back in some months ago, to do sniper killings in Afghanistan. He has just returned to again rehabilitate himself to"AMERICAN LIFE." Will the Pentagon count him as a psychological casualty of the war in Asia? Don't count on it!

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Arnold Shcherban - 1/14/2005

Is targeting civilians really new, unexpected tactics about to be used by Pentagon and CIA?
Not at all, if one take a look at the history of the US
interference under the cover of protection of human rights
and democracy: Greece, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, Central and Latin America, etc.

So, it should have been expected, actually - have been - by some insightful observers.

Geoffrey Allan Plauche - 1/10/2005

I don't know if you noticed this Mr. Marina, but one can easily but a rather disturbing interpretation on this quotation from the article you link to:

Shahwani also said that the U.S. occupation has failed to crack the problem of broad support for the insurgency. The insurgents, he said, "are mostly in the Sunni areas where the population there, almost 200,000, is sympathetic to them." He said most Iraqi people do not actively support the insurgents or provide them with material or logistical help, but at the same time they won’t turn them in. One military source involved in the Pentagon debate agrees that this is the crux of the problem, and he suggests that new offensive operations are needed that would create a fear of aiding the insurgency. "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists," he said. "From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."

So... What, is the US going to start intentionally and officially selectively targeting Iraqi civilians - who cooperate with the insurgents or fail to cooperate with the US military - with beatings, torture, maiming, and death? Not that this doesn't already happen, but the key words here are intentionally, officially, and selectively.

Sheldon Richman - 1/10/2005

Good lord. What next?