"The Salvador Option"

Brian Doherty | January 10, 2005

Iraq has been such a success, think some in the Pentagon, (note: irony) that all we need now for complete victory are some El Salvador-style Special Forces-organized but Iraqi-run assasination and kidnap squads, says this Newsweek report. Iraqi intel chief Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdallah al-Shahwani is said to be a big fan of the idea. What benefits might the scheme bring?

One military source involved in the Pentagon debate agrees...that new offensive operations are needed that would create a fear of aiding the insurgency. "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists," he said. "From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."