The Hindu : International : U.S. tactics in Iraq carry Israeli imprint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

International

International

U.S. tactics in Iraq carry Israeli imprint

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, APRIL 27. In enforcing its siege around Fallujah, the U.S. has employed tactics similar to the ones that Israel has adopted against Palestinian fighters, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In the Iraqi resistance hubs of Fallujah and Najaf, the Americans have chosen the path of encirclement, rather than `conquest' — resonating the approach that Israel has favoured in the Palestinian territories.

In Fallujah, the Americans have fortified their siege by positioning a row of concrete barriers, that run for a few kilometres, reminiscent of the security wall that the Israelis have in place in Gaza and are engaged in constructing in the West Bank.

According to the U.S. military command, 5-foot-high concrete beams, running for 4 km each, have been placed along the northern and southern parameters of the city.

The walls are now used for regulating to and fro vehicular traffic in Fallujah and are meant to choke supplies bound for the guerillas. It is also used for governing the movement of civilians. Two American engineering units finished work on the Fallujah barrier on April 15. U.S. and Israeli security forces have been in regular touch and the latter has reportedly been sharing its "urban warfare" experience in the Palestinian territories for application in Iraq.

The U.S.-Israeli connection in this field can be traced to the April 2002 battle of Jenin in the West Bank, defence analysts say. American troops, soon after this clash, were reportedly sent for training to the mock Arab town that the Israeli Army had created in the Tzrifin area of the southern Negev Desert.

The U.S. publication Defence News has reported that in December 2003, senior Israeli military officers hosted a series of meetings involving a U.S. team headed by Gen. Kevin Byrnes, commander of the U.S. army's training and doctrine command.

Analysts point out that extensive use of air power as seen in the helicopter and a F-16 strike on the Fallujah mosque on April 7, round-the-clock surveillance using unmanned aerial vehicles and intrusive raids into suspected guerilla hideouts in Iraq bear a strong Israeli imprint.

In Fallujah, U.S. forces since April 4 have been using the AC-130 Spectre — an aircraft which is capable of dropping modified 105 mm artillery shells.

The aircraft was involved in devastating an area inside the town where guerillas had attacked a convoy of U.S. military vehicles.

As it gets sucked in warfare in urban Iraq, the U.S. has begun to show greater interest in equipment that Israel has developed for use in the Palestinian territories.

For instance, American forces already use the Israeli Hunter robotic surveillance aircraft and have ordered 14 more of them.

U.S. forces are also reportedly evaluating Israeli distance-launched grenades that can punch holes inside walls to enable troops to raid buildings swiftly.

The Pentagon's Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office has ordered a number of prototypes of the `Eyeball' — a remotely launched tennis ball size system that has a variety of sensors and which can be used for hearing and even communicating with guerillas.

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