Command and Control of Iraqi Guerrilla War
By William Kulin
The Iraqi resistance will continue on its present course of limited engagements with US forces in as many different
places as possible. Command and control of a guerrilla war was mapped out well before the invasion of the country last
year. By February 2003, about 35,000 Fedayeen (the paramilitary "men of sacrifice" of Saddam Hussein) had been trained
for urban warfare. And Saddam also restored ties with Salafi-based Islamic seminaries in Fallujah, Islamic Sufi groups
in Tamim, and coordinated a strategy under which these groups agreed to coordinate with Ba'ath Party security
committees.
A key element of the resistance was that officially trained Iraqi militias and Ba'ath Party members would not themselves
commit to full battle. They recruited civilians, who were given training and equipped with arms and ammunition. These
latter forces, mostly religiously motivated zealots, were the cannon fodder. This was amply illustrated in Fallujah,
where the leaders and "professional" soldiers had left long before the US assault on the city began.
The fleeing guerrillas took refuge in other parts of al-Anbar province in which Fallujah is located, while their
colleagues in al-Tamim, Baquba and Mosul carried out organized attacks. In Mosul, the Iraqi resistance took control of
the city for a time and then melted away. The strategy is aimed at spreading US forces and demoralizing the Iraqi troops
which fight with them - there have been widespread desertions.
A number of important Ba'ath Party members were assigned to Iraqi intelligence missions abroad during Saddam's time.
After the US occupation of Iraq these Ba'athists mostly took refuge in Syria, where they at present form a strong
political movement. Similar groups are believed to exist in Egypt, Sudan, Russia, China, France and Libya. Their aim is
to organize themselves into some form of a "government in exile".
ENDS