Iraq: In all but name, the war's on
Asia Times Online
By Marc Erikson
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How do you tell a war has begun? This is not the 17th or 18th century. There are no highfalutin' declarations. Troops
don't line up in eyesight of each other. There are no drum rolls and bugle calls, no calls of "Chaaa...rge!". When did
the Vietnam War begin? When, for that matter, World War I? When mobilizations were ordered setting in motion
irreversible chains of events or at the time of the formal declarations of war?
The lines of battle and the timelines to overt battle and full-scale combat have become fluid. Consider this: At the
beginning of this year, when US President George W Bush started talking ever more in earnest about taking out Saddam
Hussein and signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake a comprehensive, covert program to topple the
Iraqi president, including authority to use lethal force to capture him, the US and putative ally Britain had
approximately 50,000 troops deployed in the region around Iraq.
By now, this number has grown to over 100,000, not counting soldiers of and on naval units in the vicinity. It's been a
build-up without much fanfare, accelerating since March and accelerating further since June. And these troops are not
just sitting on their hands or twiddling their thumbs while waiting for orders to act out some type of D-Day drama.
Several thousand are already in Iraq. They are gradually closing in and rattling Saddam's cage. In effect, the war has
begun.
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