Iraq Is Still A Dangerous Place For U.S. Soldiers

G.I.’s Find Bullets Still Flying At Outpost In Iraq -- New York Times

ASH SHURA, Iraq — Technically, American soldiers have stopped fighting in Iraq. But they can fire back when attacked, which happens frequently in this village of wheat and barley farmers, as well as an uncomfortable number of Baathist insurgents.

So much so that, while United States troops in nearly all other parts of the nation are quietly preparing to withdraw, soldiers stationed here are fighting what looks, for now, like the last American combat in the seven-year war in Iraq.

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My Comment: 3 to 4 years after the Second World War, U.S. occupation forces in Western Germany were still peppered with the odd attack or ambush. I expect this part of Iraq will also give U.S. forces the same problem until they have left.

On a side note, the NY Time's concerns about Saddam Hussein's former loyalist officers are valid. They have an organizational structure that if applied to an insurgent conflict will give the Shiite dominated Government a headache that will dwarf what Al Qaeda can produce. What both sides decide to do after the Americans have left will largely determine the course and future of Iraq .... a prospect that many Iraqis still do not feel comfortable with.