Greg’s Corner November 2006
Iraq: What Should America Do? Part II
By Greg Petty, Operations Manager

I was struck by two things as soon as I completed reading the Pentagon report to Congress Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq:

1. The report was typical Don Rumsfeld Department of Defense speak. There were major sections of the report I had difficulty believing were even remotely realistic.
2. The report was devoid of the harsh reality of the “Iraqi street” we see every day on television and read about in the papers and news magazines.

Here are some of the recent headlines I gathered in the last month in preparation for this article:

U.S. General Says 4,000 Iraqi Policemen Have Died in 2 Years… In a televised briefing from Baghdad, General Peterson acknowledged that the police forces and the Interior Ministry that supervises them were still plagued by corruption and sectarianism, and that good unit commanders were in short supply. – NY Times

U.N. Says Iraq Deadlier, Italians go Home… A U.N. report released overnight said 6,599 Iraqis had died violently in the last two months, 700 more than the previous two, making the period the deadliest yet. Many were tortured and killed by death squads because of their religion, it said. Bodies found at the Medico-Legal Institute often bear signs of severe torture including acid-induced injuries and burns caused by chemical substances, missing skin, broken bones, missing eyes, missing teeth and wounds caused by power drills or nails – Reuters

It’s Moving Day, All Over Iraq… The threats come in different ways: a telephone call at night, a bomb placed by a car, a bullet left on a shop counter. So goes the de facto partitioning of Iraq, with extremist groups forcing people to segregate themselves by sect across the country and within Baghdad. The report goes on to estimate the total displaced families as of this month at 38, 969 along with a chart that showed the dramatic increase of the relocations since March, 2006. – NY Times

Iraqis Planning Trench Network Around Baghdad – NY Times
What’s next? A Wall?

Iraq Stumbling in Bid to Purge Rogue Officers – NY Times

U.S.  May Cut Aid to Iraqi Police Units Cited for Torture of Prisoners quoting Senator Patrick Leahy, “There is abundant evidence that Iraqi government forces are committing atrocities with impunity, yet the Pentagon has refused to even report on its procedures for monitoring U.S. aid to these forces... This avoids accountability, it taints us to be connected to these abuses, and it needs to change. – NY Times

Carnage Widens Iraqi rifts: With political blocs at each other’s throats, a reconciliation conference is cancelled – The News & Observer

Saddest of all was an article of soldiers’ stories in the NY Times Week in Review Section September 3, 2006 entitled Endurance Meets Doubt in Iraq. The article profiled Staff Sgt. Ryan Poetsch and his platoon on duty in Hit, Iraq. (Anbar province) While all of our soldiers in Iraq are doing their duty and doing it well, the article shows the despair of a leader who realizes he does not have enough men, decent living conditions, and is in a city where none of the citizens want him. Most importantly his men do not understand their mission. After losing one of his men he stated, “No one understands why we are here and what our mission is.” Another soldier, Sgt. Kahlor added, “This war is lost. We aren’t helping these people. We are just dying and getting injured.”

America has failed to put enough troops into Iraq, to keep them strategically placed and to ensure effective training of Iraqi forces quickly enough. (What were we doing in 2003, 2004 and 2005?) We have so mismanaged Iraq that we have allowed it to slip into anarchy. I don’t know your definition of anarchy but the current situation in Iraq fulfills my definition. Near complete breakdown of civil order, lack of security in either the police force or the army, rampant corruption inside and outside of government, sectarian killing, breakdown of an already devastated infrastructure and failure to protect its lifeblood oil revenue.

America cannot resolve these problems. Only Iraqis, their elected and religious leaders, can demand the changes necessary to stop the carnage and gain control of their own physical and economic destiny. Many loyal Americans believe we are only exacerbating the problems and the best course now is to withdraw. Some want an immediate withdrawal, others a timeline. I think we all agree this Administration has placed us into a situation, and so terribly mismanaged it, that there are now NO GOOD CHOICES.

The Bush Administration strategy for Iraq has never been clearly articulated to the American public. First we witnessed the flyboy and “the Victory” speech on the aircraft carrier that devolved years later into the now discredited “Stay the Course” phrase.

Below are a few recommendations for future actions we may wish to consider:

1. Demand the elected and religious leaders of Iraq ensure that all militias are disarmed immediately. Tell them we will watch the progress and that future funds and military assistance are dependent on this step. As long as security there is absent, no progress in any sphere of development will take place.
2. Demand improved performance and responsibility from both the police and army.
   • Iraqi government should provide regular reports of the overall state of both organizations including how many sectarian militia members have been removed.
   • Payroll for the army and police need to be constantly audited for payment to the soldiers OR placed into the hands of another agency (Americans are handing out the checks directly to the soldiers because of corruption.)
   • Mr. Maliki criticized Mr. Bush recently for not handing over control of the police and army to him. Give him responsibility right now with benchmark performance guidelines. He will then have no further excuses for failure.
3. Once the security is improved, put everyone in Iraq to work. Iraq should emulate America’s Work Progress Administration during the Depression. They have an entire country to rebuild. People who are busy working and attempting to improve their family’s situation do not usually have time to kill each other.
   • The Iraqi government is to produce reports, broadcast in every media outlet, measuring the progress made in all sectors.
     A national banking system must be put into place on a strict timetable. Estimates are that 25% – 30% of army troops are AWOL at any one time because they physically have to take their payroll check home.
4. Iraq must show progress (defined, measurable goals) in stamping out corruption. It has to start with the police, then all other government employees. Most importantly corruption must cease in the oil sector and Interior Ministry. People who abuse their role, regardless of position, must go to jail.
5. All Iraqis must see the rule of law in action (See# 4 above)
6. Build more Iraqi prisons immediately.
7. The U. S. government should fire every American contractor who is convicted of fraud. Halliburton and other contractors must produce reports showing all of their activities and allow cost-benefit studies to take place. Individuals and companies should be sued and forced to pay back every red American cent that was misappropriated, stolen or given to cronies. CBO and GAO estimate of lost funds are in the billions of dollars.
8. Partner every contractor for infrastructure projects with an Iraqi company. If the Iraqi company is not available, then the contractor should train Iraqis to enable them for future projects. Reports of this progress are to be made directly to the Iraqi and American people.
9. With a timeline for progress of the above items, the American forces should be redeployed to protect only the Iraqi borders, critical infrastructure (oil production, pipelines, electricity production and distribution) and cultural treasures.
10. If the government cannot or does not perform, and does not demonstrate control by this time next year, we should seriously consider withdrawal of the majority our troops. If on the other hand, the security situation permits it, we should be able to reduce our troop level and ADD more civil affairs officers to promote effective local and regional government. The Iraqis have to understand that we are not going to protect them indefinitely. The Iraqi government has to have some skin in the game. As we say “Allah helps those who help themselves.”
11. Now that the “control freak” Don Rumsfeld has resigned, Robert Gates needs to restore independent thought in the Pentagon and the rightful place of the Joint Chief of Staff to give advice directly to the President. Rumsfeld deliberately subjugated the JCS’ roll granted by Congress when Title X was made law. It is abundantly clear by now we have not been well served by the lack of debate and communication to the President. One party in control of Congress has also weakened the options from which we now must choose.
    • Harry Truman had a sign on his desk “The Buck Stops Here.” Now, more than ever, we need the missteps corrected and responsibility to be taken by the White House for results and true accountability. Recognize the advice and rhetoric from Dick Cheney, Condi Rice and Karl Rove have fallen far short of what America deserves. “Stay the Course” has been soundly rejected by the American people. We cannot afford to lose any more precious American blood.
12. Recognize that the push to have a smaller, more mobile and highly technological Army has its limits. It has not succeeded in Iraq and Afghanistan (resurgence of the Taliban.) America must have enough soldiers on the ground, equipment, and logistics to secure the peace. Will we be smart enough to learn from our mistakes or continue a ruinous course?
13. The recent elections have finally provided us with a balanced government. The American people have spoken loud and clear. Democrats should move promptly to increase funding and recruiting for our armed forces. We also must provide enhanced pay, benefits and medical care for all soldiers.
    • Reduce funding for all but the most promising high-tech military weapons.
    • Redirect more funds for a larger army, soldier benefits and the Veterans Administration.
14. As citizens we must read all the bipartisan Iraq Commission proposals for resolution to America’s involvement in Iraq. We are all in this together. What do you think we should do?