Spectrum of conflict

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap
--Ronald Reagan

Terrorism is historically considered a Level I or II threat in U.S. Army doctrine. In Maoist theory, sustained terrorist activity is organic in nature, and must lead to guerrilla warfare, which in turns grows into a conventional clash of armies. Counterinsurgency doctrine tries to neutralize this transformation.

Recently GWB has been ratcheting up the threats against Iran, and since this "bring it on" attitude has been expressed throughout U.S. policy, there appears to be increased activity that indicates that the resistance in Iraq is gaining sophistication and moving up the spectrum.

What U.S. leaders are calling terrorism seems to have crossed into the realm of unconventional or urban guerrilla warfare.

Expect more helicopters being shot down. When the "dead enders" can blow Apache attack helicopters out of the sky, then they've crossed into a different threat level. In the last Apache shootdown, the shooters engaged a fire team of Apaches. This shows skill and determination.

It appears that GWB wants an increase in violence to justify his aggressive stance towards Iran. Unfortunately, U.S. military are dying at a rapid rate, and it is GWB's stateside toughness that is getting them killed.