Guerrillas in no danger of running out of arms

[Spazito]

Iraqi guerrillas have an abundant supply of small arms and explosives that could allow them to maintain their pace of attacks indefinitely, Pentagon (news - web sites) and U.S. Central Command intelligence analysts have concluded.

The guerrillas' shoot-and-scoot tactics use up relatively little ammunition while inflicting serious casualties and even deeper psychological damage.

<snip>

At least 107 U.S. troops have died in guerrilla attacks and other hostile action in Iraq (news - web sites) since May 1. And although Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has argued that the attacks are relatively few considering the size of the country, he acknowledges they have succeeded in intimidating Iraqis who might otherwise support the coalition.

<snip>

Coalition commanders have various estimates for how much is stored in those caches. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez cited an estimate of 650,000 tons, an enormous figure equal to about a third of the U.S. military's vast ammunition stockpile. Brig. Gen. Robert Davis, the officer in charge of a program to collect and destroy Iraqi weapons stocks, said the figure could be closer to 1 million tons.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&e=1&u=/usatoday/11922870

[tinnypriv]

1. Would Rumsfeld say 9/11 wasn't that bad cos the US is a big country?

What the living fuck?

[ozymandius]

2. I suppose Rumsfeld is right.

Attacks are few in those areas of Iraq that are uninhabited desert.

[DeathvadeR]

3. DAAAAMN DIRTTTTTY APESSSSSS!!!!!!!

[underpants]

4. ".....simply no way..." Shineski is still right. Arrrrgh!!!!!!!!

Two U.S. intelligence officials, one civilian, the other military, said there is simply no way to keep weapons out of the hands of guerrillas.

[Barrett808]

5. And remember, the Ba'ath squirrelled away over $30 billion by 1990

The money is hidden in the shadow economy, in various hot money centers. Iraq established many front operations during its acquisition of arms in the 1980s, and the Ba'ath party is very familiar with the hot money game.

$30 billion (or more) buys a lot of RPGs.

[MrPrax]

8. Great point...

and it should have been anticipated.
Not only money markets, but during the sanctions they commandeered all sorts of 'black market' links, trade routes, smuggling operations, etc,etc...
Hell their network might even more more resliant and extensive than Al Queda's
You might think it was planned...just as they hamper one big terror network out of AF, they create another one out of Iraq (central ME)...like replacing the local Woolworth's with a Wal-Mart!

Either idiots or brillant...

[Mal]

10. Particularly if

as a reporter interviewing a resistance fighter alleged recently (no link, sorry) "sympathetic arms dealers were selling the resistance fighters RPGs at the heavily subsidised price of $10 each"

[Journeyman]

6. I'm told Iraq is somewhat the size of California. . .

I'm also told the number of "Coalition" soldiers in Iraq is comparable to the number of police in the Golden State. If there were 25 to 35 RPG, landmine, and small arms attacks on the police every day in California, and 1 to 3 policemen dying every day in the State, hospitals and businesses being car-bombed and strafed with automatic gunfire -- well, you know the situation. If this was happening in California, any politican who characterized these as relatively few considering the size of the State wouldn't survive in office until nightfall, no matter what their position or "popularity."

We cannot let these jerks dictate the terms of the debate.

[psychopomp]

7. Interesting comparison

Your analogy makes clear the real damage that is being done to the effort to impose our brand of order on Iraq. It also makes clear that we have a lot of cops in CA!

[Journeyman]

9. In 1996, there were 169,614 criminal justice employees. . .

in the State of California. Obviously, not all of these people are on the streets as law enforcement officers, but then, not everyone in Iraq functions as a policeman, either.