"Auspices of the Second Vietnamese War,” Rush of Foreigners for Departure

The situation of public peace in Iraq is now facing its worst situation as the terrorist attack by the Iraqi resistance power is targeting not only the U.S. but also civic aid organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and even Iraqi people who align themselves with the U.S.

In the meantime, the U.S.’ postwar reconstruction task faced a serious crisis as employees of the international organizations and embassies of each country started to leave Iraq because of sporadic terrorist activities who have started organized guerilla warfare and the outside of Iraq line up with these terrorists. The situation of the Iraqi public peace became radically worse, and this may affect each country’s plan to dispatch troops to Iraq, including Korea.

A departure rush of foreigners stationing in Iraq: Pierre Garsman, a head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in Iraq, said that the ICRC, the biggest victim of a chain of terror, will evacuate 35 foreign employees stationed in Iraq on October 28. Aid organizations such as “Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)” and “Medecins du Monde” will reduce the number of resident employees. Netherlands, which dispatched 1,100 soldiers to Iraq, withdrew all its delegates in the embassy at Baghdad. Germany also has plans to withdraw four water supply experts.

U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell, concerned about these situations, said, “If aid organizations leave Iraq, then terrorists will win the fight.” However, it seems that he cannot prevent them from withdrawing. According to the Washington Post, on October 28, U.S. high-level officials, such as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a closed meeting and discussed a counter plan but did not find a solution.

The possibility of the second Vietnamese war: “This terror, which occurred in accordance with Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for the Muslims, reminds us of the New Year’s Day offensive during the second Vietnamese war,” said military experts. This North Vietnamese offensive on New Year’s Day (lunar calendar), the greatest holiday in Vietnam, reversed the momentum in the war and because of this, the U.S. withdrew. This similarity can cause a mental contraction within the U.S.

There will be a higher possibility of terrorist attack because of a spreading thought that during Ramadan, radical behaviors can be considered as religious and an act of martyrdom with which they can receive indulgences.

Moreover, there is a new analysis of a “new war,” with help from Islamic radicals and foreign subsidiary troops, because among suicidal explosion terrorist who attacked the police on October 27, one reportedly had a Syria passport.

Aggravation of the U.S. public opinion, the peak of withdrawal: The complaint about George W. Bush administration in the U.S. is increasing. According to the survey done by USA Today and CNN on October 24-26, a response disapproving of the way Bush is dealing with Iraq was 50 percent, an increase of 18 percent from April. Survey responses for withdrawal of all or part of the U.S. troops from Iraq increased to 57 percent from 46 percent.

In a corner, there is an early withdrawal opinion. According to AP News press, “There is a high possibility that the U.S. will pass over the Iraq issue to the United Nations and withdraw from Iraq before the next presidential election in November 2003,” said one of the experts of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the United Kingdom.

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