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Rocket strike shows new bravado
ANALYSIS TIM RIPLEY YESTERDAY�S brazen rocket attack on the
Al Rashid hotel in Baghdad showed that the Iraqi resistance to the US-led
occupation has dramatically increased the sophistication of its arsenal and has
the confidence to use it in the very centre of the Iraqi capital.
Initial reports suggest that a trailer-mounted battery of GRAD rockets, similar to those used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, were used in the attack that almost killed the US assistant secretary of defence, Paul Wolfowitz. The attackers set the rockets on a timer and then made their escape, in a form of hit-and-run strike the US army has not encountered in Iraq before. The availability of such weaponry will come as no surprise to US and British troops in Iraq, who have faced attacks of growing sophistication over the past seven months. Saddam Hussein�s multi-billion-dollar arms spending spree in the 1980s has left a huge legacy of abandoned weaponry around Iraq. The Iraqi army boasted some 130 huge ammunition dumps that have been left largely unguarded since April when the old regime collapsed. Scavengers looking for scrap and potential guerrillas have been ransacking these dumps, many of which contain thousands of shells, rockets, guided missiles and millions of bullets, as well as hundreds of tons of plastic explosive and propellant. Much of the material has been recycled by the Iraqi resistance, with US and British forces coming under attack by rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, high-powered sniper rifles and shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. A growing threat has been the construction of large lorry or car bombs, and smaller improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that are used as booby-traps to kill unsuspecting US and British soldiers. While "bulk" explosive is easily available from the unguarded ammunition dumps, the guerrillas have begun stealing the "smart" electronic timers and detonators for their bombs from international mine-clearing groups. They would normally be used for disposing of minefields and unexploded bombs that threaten civilians, but are being diverted for less benign purposes. British troops in Basra report that they have faced attack from at least four distinct types of device, including radio-controlled, magnetically and electronically detonated devices. To counter this growing threat, the British Army has deployed two teams of bomb-disposal experts equipped with all the hi-tech devices developed for use in Northern Ireland, including the famous "Wheelbarrow" robots that can allow IEDs to be made safe without putting human life at risk. Saturday�s shooting-down of a Blackhawk troop-carrying helicopter near Tikrit also demonstrated that Iraqi resistance fighters are gaining in experience and tactical expertise to take on US troops and escape. It is the strategic and tactical skill of the resistance fighter that is causing particular concern to US commanders in Baghdad, because of their ability to hit high-profile targets for maximum political impact. The ability of the resistance to gather the intelligence to mount these attacks is also causing concern. As the Americans employ more Iraqis in important police and security jobs, they will have to take more care to ensure they can really trust them. The
Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
