Iraq War is Looking Increasingly Like a Quagmire

Interview with former Calif. state Sen. Tom Hayden, antiwar activist, conducted by Scott Harris

As the press focuses more attention on the White House credibility gap over Iraq's missing weapons of mass destruction, public support for the war and the president has slipped considerably as measured by recent opinion polls. The Bush administration has been on the defensive since it was revealed that the President referred to a document known to be a forgery in his January State of the Union address, using it to back up his claim that Baghdad was attempting to build nuclear weapons and justify his plan for war.

But as deadly attacks on occupation forces in Iraq continue, with nearly a dozen assaults launched daily against U.S. soldiers and a growing death toll, some observers are now pointing out the dangers of what could develop into a protracted guerrilla war. Some 100 American troops have been killed, either by hostile fire or in accidents since U.S and British forces overthrew Saddam Hussein's government on April 9. Growing instability prompted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to say that resistance to occupation may be stepped up during the next month and that more American troops might be required to control the situation.

Responding to the deepening crisis, L. Paul Bremer III, President Bush's administrator in Iraq, pushed up the timetable for establishing an interim government in Baghdad. The new Iraqi Governing Council was convened on July 13, and is comprised of 25 representatives selected by the U.S. to act as advisors while American officials retain the power to overrule the body's decisions. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with veteran antiwar activist and former California state Senator Tom Hayden, who assesses the potential for a long and costly U.S. military campaign in Iraq, often referred to as a "quagmire" during the Vietnam war era.

Visit former Tom Hayden's website at www.tomhayden.com

Related links

"Say It: This Is a Quagmire," by Tom Hayden, www.Alternet.org, July 7, 2003
"A Firm Basis for Impeachment," Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2003
"A Quagmire for Bush?: Americans are increasingly skeptical about the war in Iraq and the intelligence leading up to it," by Laura Fording, Newsweek, July 12, 2003
"Poll: U.S. Losing Control in Iraq,"July 10, 2003
"Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq," By Christopher Scheer, AlterNet.org, June 23, 2003

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