Iraqi Insurgency Against U.S. Occupation

What methods did the group (s) use to express their frustrations and ultimately lead to a revolution? The Iraq revolution in 2003 is set aside from other revolutions under the terms that revolution was against foreign invading forces, but at the same time civil war plagued the country as well. Before the invasion of outside forces, there was high tension within Iraq between the two dominant Muslim branches of religion in the country, the Sunni’s and the Shiites. Eventually extremist parties from both sides began combating each other, the situation intensified as the violence grew from fist fights to gun skirmishes between the two sides. When the U.S. took the city from the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by military force, the surviving remnants of the Iraqi army loyal to Saddam, the terrorist organization Al Qaeda as well as the extremist Muslim cells (some supported by Al Qaeda) started a revolt against the foreign invaders .They began using suicide and guerilla tactics to try and halt the efforts of the United Nations and the United States who were attempting to form a liberal democracy within the country. The insurgents released propaganda, planned raids and suicide attacks against U.S. controlled buildings and troops. Hoping to inflict enough casualties to cause the U.S. and U.N. to withdraw. The most deadly weapons were IEDs or Improvised Explosive Devices. These makeshift bombs were placed on road sides or outside buildings then ignited using a detonator, usually an altered cell phone. These weapons caused more civilian casualties than U.S. military, showing how determined the revolutionaries were to stop the U.S. They were willing to kill their own people to accomplish their goal. How your revolution is similar and/or different to one of the revolutions previously studied? There are only few similarities between Iraqi insurgency against the United States government and having a republic as a government, and the American Revolution is that the ultimate goal of both revolutions was to eject foreign rule and interference from their nation, and set up their own government. Another likeness to these groups is that they both eventually used violence during their revolution, and had been receiving aid from people foreign countries. France, Spain and Holland had been giving support to the colonists during the American Revolution, while the Taliban, another extremist group from Afghanistan, have been lending assistance to the part of the Iraqi insurrectionary. There are many differences between the Iraqi insurgency and the American Revolution. Already complicated, the Iraqi revolution was made more complex by conflicting religious beliefs, and opinion in the opposing groups. Firstly, the Sunnis and Shiites, the two main revolutionary groups in Iraq, are not united in trying to expel the U.S. soldiers from Iraqi land. In fact, the animosity between these two Muslim extremists had gone back to the time after Prophet Muhammad’s death when the leaders of the Shiites and Sunnis argued on who would continue the great Prophet’s legacy. Basically, the Iraqi extremists are fighting against the American soldiers and against another revolutionary group who has been their enemy for hundreds of years. Both Sunnis and Shiites employed violence as a means to attain their goal. They had no qualms or hesitations about harming innocent civilians, however honorable or not their actions are. Raids from the revolutionaries of these two groups were one of the many direct causes of the civilian street riots. And to convolute the matters even further, another famous terrorist group, the Al Qaeda is part of the coalition against the U.S. troops, though this time, their hostility seemed reserved to the American soldiers. Contrary to the insurgency in Iraq, he American Revolution was much more well-planned and orderly revolution than the insurgency in Iraq. And at least a third of the combined states supported the revolution. Also, those who were strategizing the revolution in America had constructed plans for the future of the United States of America if they won the war against Great Britain. The constitution had already drawn up the founding fathers before even the revolution was over. And while the Sunnis and Shiites may have already planned as well, it would be for the benefit of their perspective groups, and not for the Iraqi people. Also, so far, there has been no word or news of any constitution or the like devised by the insurgents. What was the eventual outcome of the revolution, and did the nation/people become better due to the revolution? The success of the revolution is debatable. In terms of causing a full withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq and stopping the installation of a democracy within the country, the revolution failed. There is still an occupation of outside forces inside Iraq. However, the global view on the invasion of Iraq is mostly negative. The majority of people now think that foreign forces should withdraw from Iraq and leave it to recover and function on its own. Because of the increasing casualty rate, people think that these “pointless” deaths can be avoided if the U.S. withdraws its troops from Iraq. The citizens of Iraq are still in a similar state that they were under Saddam Hussein or during the war. The country is still in shambles and people live in fear. It can be looked at as: Under Saddam, the people lived in fear of being arrested and executed. During the war, people were afraid of being shot. During the U.S. occupation, people lived in fear of being a victim of a terrorist attack. But the country is making a steady climb back to normal day life. With the establishment of a new government, the country can start dealing with the internal needs and affairs of the country and its people. Was the revolution justified? Would other methods have worked? Unlike the French and American Revolution, the insurgency in Iraq cannot be justified. There were no iniquitous officials needed to be overthrown or too many heavy taxes to be paid or unfair social systems and divisions needed to be changed. The president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani was an Iraqi, not American, so it would be safe to say that the population has a suitable representation in the government. The American soldiers occupied in Iraq are just trying to keep the peace. And while many think that the United States has ulterior motive, the oil, they are still doing their best to keep the order in a chaotic country. Numerous civilians and militants had died in the major conflict in Baghdad, especially in Haifa Street, almost one year ago. At the peak of insurgency, 200 civilians died daily, caught in crossfire and explosions, and the annual death rate that year was 34,000 people, militants included. All these persons did not need to lose their life prematurely if the extremists hadn’t involved the rest of the populace. Briefly state whether or not your revolution follows Crane Brinton’s Stages of Revolution? The revolution in Iraq is not easily compared with the stages described in Crane Briton’s Stages of Revolution. This is mainly because of key factors such as: the leaders of the country at the time were foreign forces who were working to construct a new government which would then be taken over by the country, there were many different forces who were in the revolution and whether or not the revolution was a success is a matter of personal opinion. Parts of the first stage of the anatomy fit the revolutions characteristics. The government was ineffective and was unable to maintain control and manage the country proficiently. The country was in debt and there was no set leader at the time. However, the rebellion was not caused by economic restraint. The rebels were upset by foreign control of the country. Also, the government co-operated with the foreign forces so no significant government leaders in the country’s government defected. During the second stage, the rebels did rise up and uses extreme violent manners to try to take control of the government. But, they did not, or rather, have not taken control of the government. Since the revolution is still covertly being continued to this day, it is still a possibility the rebels can cause the foreign forces to withdraw. But it is still a stalemate. Element from the third stage, Crisis, such as violent and efforts to spread the ideals of the insurgency, can be found in the revolution. But as of now, it sounds like the streets in Baghdad are fairly peaceful. Shop keepers move back in to their previously abandoned stalls and markets and businesses started by the Americans are now continued by the Iraqi people by themselves. This aspect can be part of the fourth stage, Convalescence, but the revolution is not yet completely over since the revolutionary groups had not yet been disbanded and punished. As of now, life seemed normal in Baghdad, but it can all change quickly once the terrorists decide to return out into the open and try to recapture the Baghdad, now that the U.S. is trying to decide if 25,000 troops stationed in Iraq should withdraw from the country. Bibliography Armanios, Febe. "Islam: Sunnis and Shiites." FAS. 23 Feb 2004. 29 Jan 2008 . "Battle for Baghdad: No Way Out." CBC. 05 Apr 2007. 31 Jan 2008 . "Democracy in Iraq." White House. 12 Dec 2005. The White House. 28 Jan 2008 . Gresh, Alain. "Iraq In Focus." Insurgentjg. 27 Jan 2008. 29 Jan 2008 . "Jalal Talabani." Wikipedia. 24 Jan 2008. 29 Jan 2008 . Mazzetti, Mark. "C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden ." The New York Times. 04 July 2004. The New York  Times Company. 31 Jan 2008 .