Who is behind the violence in Iraq?: "There has been a steady stream of attacks since the occupation began - targeting utilities and oil facilities, but mostly US troops.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed these as isolated and fragmented acts, but in mid-July the new Centcom commander, John Abizaid, said coalition forces were facing what looks like a systematic guerrilla war.
Main areas of attack
The violence appears to be well-organised and continuous. It benefits from a general atmosphere of discontent, wounded national sensibilities, penalised marginal groups, Arab and Iranian media agitation, good funding, and the CPA's self-imposed isolation from the public and the cultural blunders it has made in dealing with local communities.
Although political and ideological violence is still detached from mainstream institutional engagement or peaceful street politics, it may well gain strength if and when hardships continue. "
- posted by geoff @ #