I stole this from the agonist, but I figured dkossacks would like it too, so here you go.
http://www.agonist.org/archives/015277.html#015277
(I particularily Like the last two paragraphs.)
April 24, 2004
The Next Phase Begins
Stirling Newberry of Bopnews.com
The next phase of the insurgents war against the US has begun with suicide boat bombs. The attack is a classic - the "fire ship" dates back to ancient Greece. It has been updated, the first submarine was essentially a suicide ship packed with explosives, targetted at a Union vessel during the civil war.
These attacks will continue to grow in sophistication, until, at some point, the big score will happen, and tankers in the Gulf will face rapidly mounting insurance risks. It will also force the US to patrol the gulf and all of the small shallows and inlets which are used for smuggling in the gulf - the rumor is that there are hundreds.
While others, rightly, are focused on whether Bush will order an attack on Fallujah, the bigger picture is the creation, in Iraq, of the belief that, under a thatcherizing American occupation, they will have nothing to live for. Young men who have nothing to live for, have everything to kill for. Contrast this with the young soldiers we have sent to die in Iraq to punch Secretary Rumsfeld ticket - they have a reason to live, they went their under the impression they were going to give life to a people long oppressed and enslaved.
However, the local population feels, with no small justificiation, that the political arrangements about to be imposed on them, are about trading one set of chains for a slightly lighter set of chains.
For example, in the US, that Chalabi is not to be added to the "caretaker" government is seen for a victory for common sense, of sorts. However, when looked at closely, one sees the truth. First, the "Caretaker government" cannot pass laws, nor will it control the army, the security forces, or the banking system. The banks are already run by Chalabi cronies, and the Army and Security forces will directly be controlled through the Interior Ministry. The "sovereignty" then is no different than declaring someone an "adult" - for purposes of trial. The "sovereignty" is meant to allow Iraq to hand over money to the US, which claimnants against the previous government have. In short, it is simply a means of getting money out of the country.
The Caretaker Government will also not be allowed to run for election. Hence, the most likely play is to have Chalabi run for the real government, after the Caretaker has signed all of the unpopular orders - such as paying back Bush backers for the war.
The Iraqis then are fighting for the only freedom that national wars are ever fought for - the right to own their own country, free and clear of encumberance. They did not elect Saddam, most were not alive when Saddam came to power. It was not they who supplied Saddam with weapons and material during the 1980's. It was not they who left him in power after the last war. The present Iraqi population, therefore, feels they have already paid, in blood, for Saddam, and that they owe nothing to the nations that removed him.
In the Revolutionary War, the Kingdom of France helped the Americans liberate themselves from the King of Great Britain. Would we have been as friendly if the French had demanded that they own our ships, empty our banks, and have complete control over our timber and fishing - the great resources of the day? I think not.
Then why do Americans feel that the Iraqis would accept a condition of servitude that we would not?