Comparison of the Iraq War to the Algerian War

Essay. Not substantiated by sources {{pov}} There have been '''comparisons''' in public debate comparing the [[Wikipedia:Iraq War]] to the [[Wikipedia:Algerian War]] (1954–1962).<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/15/sitroom.03.html "The Situation Room" discussing similarity between Iraq and Algerian Wars]</ref> [[Henry Kissinger]] [[Wikipedia:Henry Kissinger|(WP)]] advised President [[George W. Bush]] [[Wikipedia:George W. Bush|(WP)]] to read ''A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962'' (Viking, 1977) by [[Wikipedia:Alistair Horne]] about the Algerian War for advice on how to handle the war in Iraq.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/01/21/bushs_history_lesson/ "Bush's history lesson"], ''Boston Globe'' editorial, January 21, 2007. (Brief abstract and paid archive.)</ref><ref>[http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/38 "An analysis of the new counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq"], interview with [[Wikipedia:Henry Kissinger|Kissinger]], [[Wikipedia:Alistair Horne|Horne]], [[Wikipedia:Tom Ricks]] of the ''Washington Post'' and retired colonel and author [[Wikipedia:Andrew Bacevich]], ''[[Wikipedia:Charlie Rose]]'' [[Wikipedia:PBS]]/[[Wikipedia:Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] show, January 19, 2007. Retrieved 2011-09-18.</ref> In a CNN interview aired January 15, 2007 Horne agreed to the comparison that "a major power is faced with an Arab insurgency that has targeted police, public servants, innocent civilians. All of that has preoccupied the Americans as it did the French." ==Pentagon screening of ''The Battle of Algiers''== {{WP+NODEL|Comparison of Iraq War to the Algerian War}} :See [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Comparison of Iraq and Vietnam wars]] [[Wikipedia:The Pentagon|Pentagon]] officials viewed on August 27, 2003 [[Wikipedia:Gillo Pontecorvo]] 1966 film, ''[[Wikipedia:The Battle of Algiers (film)|The Battle of Algiers]]''.<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=817779 La direction des opérations spéciales du Pentagone organise une projection de « La Bataille d'Alger »], ''[[Wikipedia:Le Monde]]'', September 9, 2003 {{fr icon}}</ref><ref>[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/394858541.html?dids=394858541:394858541&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+4%2C+2003&author=Stephen+Hunter&pub=The+Washington+Post&edition=&startpage=C.01&desc=The+Pentagon%27s+Lessons+From+Reel+Life The Pentagon's Lessons From Reel Life - 'Battle of Algiers' Resonates in Baghdad], ''[[Wikipedia:The Washington Post]]'', September 4, 2003</ref> In 2003, the film again made the news after the US [[Wikipedia:Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict]] at The Pentagon offered a screening of the film on August 27, regarding it as a useful illustration of the problems faced in Iraq.<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/01/i_dl.01.html "Re-release of "The Battle of Algiers"] ''Diplomatic License'', [[Wikipedia:CNN]], January 1, 2004.</ref> A flyer for the screening read: :"How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film."<ref>[http://www.rialtopictures.com/eyes_xtras/battle_times.html Michael T. Kaufman's "Film Studies"] ''New York Times'', 7 September 2003.</ref> According to the [[Wikipedia:Defense Department]] official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French."<ref>[http://www.rialtopictures.com/eyes_xtras/battle_times.html Michael T. Kaufman's "Film Studies"] ''New York Times'', 7 September 2003.</ref> The 2003 screening lent new currency to the film, coming only months after U.S. President George W. Bush's May 1, 2003 "[[Wikipedia:Mission Accomplished]]" speech proclaiming the end of "major hostilities" in Iraq. Opponents of President Bush cited the Pentagon screening as proof of a growing concern within the Defense Department about the growth of an [[Wikipedia:Iraqi insurgency]] belying Bush's triumphalism. One year later, the media's revelations regarding the [[Wikipedia:Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]] [[Wikipedia:scandal]] led critics of the war to compare [[Wikipedia:Torture during the Algerian War|French torture]] in the film and "aggressive interrogation" of prisoners in [[Wikipedia:Abu Ghraib prison]]<ref>Lawatch, Brian, [http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mcnair_journal&sei-redir=1#search=%22Abu%20Ghraib%20algiers%22 "Legitimizing Torture]: How Similar Ideologies of the United States in the War on Terror and the French in Algeria Led to Torture", ''scholarworks.boisestate.edu'', n.d.; Lawatch is [[Wikipedia:Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program|McNair Scholar]]; David Walker, [[Wikipedia:Boise State University]] was Lawatch's mentor; article includes on pp. 11 & 27 citation of MacMaster, Neil, "Torture: from Algiers to Abu Ghraib." ''[[Wikipedia:Race & Class]]'' 46, no. 2 (2004). Retrieved 2011-09-18.</ref> It should be pointed out, however, that there are some significant difference between the conflicts. While the Iraqi insurgency is fighting against an army that only recently conquered their country, the Algerians were rioting against French colonial rule which date back to the 1830s. Furthermore, the role of religion is central to insurgent ideology in Iraq while its role in Algeria was significantly limited in comparison. Also, Algeria was actually considered a part of metropolitan France and was governed as such; Iraq, on the other hand, is an autonomous country, with massive US military presence certainly, but with no American colonialization taking place or even being contemplated. Despite these differences, however, the very great similarities between the two conflicts cannot be overlooked. ==Insurgency tactics== The tactics used by the FLN in the opening rounds of the Algerian insurgency closely mirrored those used in Iraq. The primary assault on civil infrastructure and representatives of the perceived "enemy army" were common to both. This is most clearly manifested in the targeting of the police forces: the targeting of police - a tactic also employed by the Viet Cong during the American [[Wikipedia:Vietnam War]] (the Second Indo China war) - stimulates reprisals from the occupying army. The initial French response to FLN violence was extreme and inevitably included civilian casualties. This had the effect - just as it did in Iraq, as well as in Vietnam - of boosting the level of recruitment to the insurgent cause. There were further tactical reasons. As Alistair Horne says in his "A Savage War of Peace": "Once the FLN realised it was not was not strong enough to take on the powerful French Army, it concentrated its efforts on the native police force loyal to France. Result: a deadly loss of morale amongst the police, with defections to the FLN, and the French army reduced to defensively defending the police, instead of concentrating on active search-and-destroy missions. The insurgents in Iraq have learned from this with deadly effect." ==Porous borders== Also like Iraq, the Algerian borders were porous, which allowed a free flow of insurgents into and out of the country, most notably from Bourguiba's Tunisia. The French-constructed [[Wikipedia:Morice Line]], a fortified line intended to block the cross border flow, though it stopped the movement of troops, did not make Tunisia any less welcoming to Algerian insurgents. In fact, the closure of the border had the effect of cutting off this swelling rebel army from French view. This was to prove greatly to the advantage of the [[Media:Insert non-formatted text here]][[Media:Example.ogg]]FLN.

There is also a parallel with the Vietnam War, where Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army regulars were able to find sanctuary in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. The French debacle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, is yet another parallel. The forward base at Dien Bien Phu, it should be remembered, was originally intended as a method of confronting Viet Minh forces operating out of Laos - another porous border.

Iraq's insurgents have been similarly sustained by safe havens in neighbouring countries, most notably in Iran and Syria. The interaction of Iraqi insurgents with Iranian elements and the safe haven offered by the land border between those two countries provides another similarity between the Iraq war and the Algerian revolt.

Destruction of political centre

The inability of the United States successfully to put down the Iraqi insurgency has hitherto been regarded as a military problem. Just as in Vietnam, the idea held fast that the harder the enemy is hit, the more of them that are killed and subjugated, the closer the insurgency is to being crushed.

The reason for this is that in Iraq, the political settlement has largely been eschewed as, just as in Algeria, there is no coherent "opposite side" with which to negotiate. The initial attack on Iraq was conducted with such vast military force and the immediate aftermath marked with indiscriminate hostility on the part of US forces and hired security companies, that the moderate Iraqi centre was driven into the arms of the insurgents. uage and aspiration - were, by comparison, more secular.

The enemy without

The prolonged period of apparent military failure by the US in Iraq infuriated the US high command, just as it did the French high command in Algeria. The assumption on the part of the French was that the FLN must have been receiving external military assistance in order to effect such a successful struggle.

Suspicion would naturally fall upon Tu

The trap

poop

Bibliography

• Major Wikipedia:Gregory D. Peterson, The French Experience in Algeria, 1954-62: Blueprint for U.S. Operations in Iraq, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas: Wikipedia:School of Advanced Military Studies

See also

• Wikipedia:Torture during the Algerian War