Remember the al-Adhamiya wall? Al-Adhamiya is where Sunni protests broke out against the American construction of giant concrete barriers around Sunni neighborhoods. Some debate about "gated communities" and "Balkanization of Baghdad" ensued, and people seemed rather upset. Residents felt less "protected" than imprisoned, with comparisons to the Israeli wall unavoidable. In response, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered construction of the wall halted. Iraqis seemed pleased: "Mr. Maliki’s decision to speak out against the wall was read on the streets as a moment of defiant Iraqi sovereignty in the face of the Americans." No one was sure what would happen next - would the American actually listen to the Prime Minister? Ambassador Ryan Crocker said yes, but military officials seemed unfazed. Well, without much publicity,, Maliki reportedly has changed his mind:
Dave Kilcullen, the Senior Counter-Insurgency Advisor for Multi-National Force Iraq, explained that Prime Minister Maliki restarted the project after he was briefed on the need for the barrier and how the protests had come about. "As I understand it, once the reasons for the project and the likely benefits in terms of lives saved were explained to the PM, he was happy for it to continue. I understand that the evidence of extremist manipulation was also a factor." Kilcullen likened the barrier to an "urban tourniquet," and explained that the propaganda campaign to disrupt its construction came from none other than al Qaeda in Iraq.
Propaganda campaign? In a blog post, Kilcullen describes it like this:
Why the protest, then, in the case of Adhimiya? Principally because, if the gated community succeeds, AQI’s ability to strike at Shi’a communities, and thus its ability to provoke sectarian violence, will be dramatically curtailed as it loses its base in East Baghdad. Hence AQI appears to have initiated the local protests, organized using cellphone text messages and mass-produced paper flyers in the district. This is classic AQI info ops – stirring up the population through a combination of manipulation, intimidation and fear of other groups. The level of coordination and media manipulation applied in this case is also a hallmark of AQI info ops.
Really? We're to believe that the widespread public outrage over the wall was all due to al-Qaeda? To me that sounds like either (a) cheap rationalization, (b) spin aimed at credulous American audiences, or (c) evidence that the strategists are dangerously out of touch. I'm not sure which would be more alarming. I have no doubt that insurgency groups or sympathizers, as well as al-Qaeda, played some role in mobilizing outrage - but to therefore dismiss widespread popular sentiment seems like exactly the kind of tone-deaf mistake which the US repeatedly made pre-Petreaus. I can't imagine why Sunni leaders might feel like the government and the US ignore their concerns. Kilcullen says that the US considers it worthwhile to pay a political cost because of the great tactical importance of these Baghdad walls. But political considerations are crucial at this point, aren't they?
At any rate, people should know that according to this report the wall is back on, and its because the US forces say (and Maliki supposedly believes) that hostile Iraqi public opinion is all al-Qaeda's fault.
UPDATE: CNN Arabic commissioned a public opinion survey on the question and found that 76% of Iraqis reject "establishing isolation walls...to reduce sectarian violence". That's an awful lot of al-Qaeda propagandists...
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