Americans in Secret Locations in Iraq

There are three things observers stop at when looking at the U.S. intervention in Iraq, after the infamous events that took place in Mosul on June 10, 2014 when, in only few hours, the militants were able to defeat the Iraqi army and the police, estimated at about 200,000 members. Feelings of shock and awe emerged strongly in the behavior of White House and Pentagon leaders. President Barack Obama acknowledged the failure of the CIA in estimating the strength of the insurgency in Iraq, which is anti-American as well as against the Iraqi government that was appointed by America after the invasion of that country in 2003. The three things are:

First, the Americans have categorically refused to send ground troops to battle the militants face-to-face as they did in 2003, where there were constantly about 380,000 Americans troops, before their defeat and withdrawal in late 2011. This even after Iraqi government forces broke down not only in Mosul, but also in nearly half of Iraq’s area, amounting to 444,000 square kilometers. This American rejection came after a harsh and bitter experience from Iraqis opposed to the occupation. U.S. President Barack Obama openly admitted in his speech, when he announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops in October 2011, that an entire generation of Americans will suffer from the consequences of the war in Iraq. Therefore, the return of American soldiers to Iraq means adding more American generations to another round of cruel suffering.

Second, a few days ago the Americans announced that the Pentagon will send 1,500 American troops. This announcement did not mention the places where the troops will be grounded and restricted their work to the training of Iraqi forces only, in an attempt to reassure their families that they will stay away from Iraqi insurgents’ fire. This announcement had a different tone than the bragging of the U.S. during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. While about 500 journalists accompanied those forces in March 2003, the American soldiers will stay away from their cameras this time. There is no explanation for this behavior but the absolute fear of the Iraqis fighting against them. Although the knowledge of their places will not be difficult amid the wide intelligence efforts of the militants who have confused the Americans as well as other countries and intelligence agencies in the region and the world.

Third, though at one time the American media backed the decision of former U.S. President George W. Bush to invade Iraq, much of it is now against sending ground troops to Iraq. That’s because of what happened to their 2 million troops during the years of the occupation, when the Pentagon admitted that 70 percent suffered from psychological issues at different levels.

Merely the fact that the Americans have required that the presence of their troops in Iraq be in secret places has a bad connotation for America’s reputation.