Iraqi Resistance: Know Your History

Recently there have been some blitherings in the comment boards about supporting the insurgency in Iraq. I just thought I'd make the terms of the debate clear to folks by presenting the Department of Defense's own data on the issue. This graph is from the DoD's very own "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq," a quarterly report last issued in September. As you can see, in every single month of the insurgency, the majority of the attacks have been directed against coalition troops, aka the occupiers. There is a myth that Iraq is simply a nest of sectarian violence, but the truth is in fact far simpler. People don't like to be occupied, and are willing to use violence to secure their freedom.

This particular report is interesting because, as the DoD wonks note, "[a]ttacks against Coalition forces reached record levels in June, and the proportion of total attacks against Coalition forces increased to their highest levels since December 2005, accounting for 73% of all attacks." Thus the truth is actually the opposite of the dominant image of Iraqis growing ever more sectarian and spiraling downwards into a pit of blood feuds and terrorism. The surge has actually served to unite Iraqis even tighter against their imperial overlords. I've dealt elsewhere with the implications this has had for the different segments of the resistance, but suffice to say for now that one doesn't have to look far for the data with which to debunk the war machine's myths about Iraqis. In this instance, you only have to go to the Pentagon's webpage.