Lessons Unlearned In Iraq
By Kiki Munshi
Washington Post
JULIAN, Calif. -- Last year at this time, I traveled from Forward Operating Base Warhorse into the Iraqi town of Baqubah several times a week to meet with the governor, the provincial council chairman and other officials. Yes, it was dangerous. But it wasn't suicidal.
Today, though, such trips would be almost impossible. Baqubah is a battlefield, the site of a major push against al-Qaeda and other insurgents. The houses that haven't been destroyed are riddled with bullet holes. Many of the Iraqis I worked with are dead, and many others have fled.
The reason for some of this destruction lies, as our newspapers tell us, in the outpouring of al-Qaeda operatives from Baghdad, a result of the latest U.S. troop "surge" into the capital. Much of the responsibility, however, is ours.
The actions of American troops have prompted much of the resistance in Diyala province. More important, these actions are symptomatic of other factors, including the short attention span of the American people, the regular rotation of our troops, the understandable desire of each commander to distinguish himself, and our very American belief that we can solve problems quickly when others can't. We have allowed all of these factors to run away with the war in Iraq.
Last year the colonel in charge of a battalion of the 4th Infantry Division, several of his commanders and other officers and I spent a great deal of time trying to convince potential "insurgents" that politics could be a substitute for guns in the ongoing battle to control resources. We were modestly successful. The brigade commander met regularly with Shiites and Sunnis in the security forces and government. Battalion commanders were on excellent terms with Sunni and Shiite tribal chiefs in their areas and received substantial support from them.
Through the offices of Baqubah Mayor Khalid al-Sanjary, I spoke several times with high-ranking former Baathist military officers who wanted desperately to help their country and to defend it against Iranian incursion. Here our two sides had a common interest: The United States had been tracking the infiltration of war materiel into Diyala from Iran, and much of it was used against us; these Baathists (most of the officers were Sunni) had led Iraqi units during the war against Iran and had no desire to see Iranians control their country.
(Continued here.)
Washington Post
JULIAN, Calif. -- Last year at this time, I traveled from Forward Operating Base Warhorse into the Iraqi town of Baqubah several times a week to meet with the governor, the provincial council chairman and other officials. Yes, it was dangerous. But it wasn't suicidal.
Today, though, such trips would be almost impossible. Baqubah is a battlefield, the site of a major push against al-Qaeda and other insurgents. The houses that haven't been destroyed are riddled with bullet holes. Many of the Iraqis I worked with are dead, and many others have fled.
The reason for some of this destruction lies, as our newspapers tell us, in the outpouring of al-Qaeda operatives from Baghdad, a result of the latest U.S. troop "surge" into the capital. Much of the responsibility, however, is ours.
The actions of American troops have prompted much of the resistance in Diyala province. More important, these actions are symptomatic of other factors, including the short attention span of the American people, the regular rotation of our troops, the understandable desire of each commander to distinguish himself, and our very American belief that we can solve problems quickly when others can't. We have allowed all of these factors to run away with the war in Iraq.
Last year the colonel in charge of a battalion of the 4th Infantry Division, several of his commanders and other officers and I spent a great deal of time trying to convince potential "insurgents" that politics could be a substitute for guns in the ongoing battle to control resources. We were modestly successful. The brigade commander met regularly with Shiites and Sunnis in the security forces and government. Battalion commanders were on excellent terms with Sunni and Shiite tribal chiefs in their areas and received substantial support from them.
Through the offices of Baqubah Mayor Khalid al-Sanjary, I spoke several times with high-ranking former Baathist military officers who wanted desperately to help their country and to defend it against Iranian incursion. Here our two sides had a common interest: The United States had been tracking the infiltration of war materiel into Diyala from Iran, and much of it was used against us; these Baathists (most of the officers were Sunni) had led Iraqi units during the war against Iran and had no desire to see Iranians control their country.
(Continued here.)
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