U.S. steps into the very footprints Britain left in Iraq

[never cry wolf]

U.S. steps into the very footprints Britain left in Iraq

By Stephen Franklin
Stephen Franklin is a Tribune staff reporter
Published June 27, 2004

Bloodshed is everywhere. So is the resistance, which has drawn in Iraqis who never worked together.

And as the killing engulfs Baghdad, Basra and other major Iraqi cities, it swallows up deeply resented foreigners, the soldiers protecting them and innocent Iraqis caught in the crossfire.

Amid the heat and worsening chaos, there is a sickening feeling that nobody was paying attention as everything was going wrong.

"We are today not far from a disaster," argued a key military adviser to the occupation authorities by way of a politically explosive letter to a major newspaper back home.

Was it the latest bulletin from Iraq? No.

It is from 84 years ago when Britain was embroiled in a similarly bloody foray into Iraq. The writer of the letter to the Sunday London Times, who felt that authorities had squelched the true toll of Britain's losses, was T.E. Lawrence.

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[stellanoir]

1. see the crusades for further reference. . .

Ughhh....

[ewagner]

2. Outrage! Outrage! Outrage!

Don't these f-ers in State Department, DoD, or White House have a clue about history? Most of us on this board have predicted the situation in Iraq and many here drew parallels between Iraq of toadya and Iraq of 1918-1922..........

I'm infuriated by the ignorance of history....moreover, I am infuriated that this administration has raised ignorance to an art form.