Leaving for good: Soldiers close the Iraq-Kuwait border gate behind the final vehicles. There are concerns about how stable Iraq is and whether the departure of U.S. troops is too premature. December, 2011.
Nick Turse, The Nation: Why Do All of the Pentagon’s ‘Successes’ in Iraq Look More Like Failures?
The only thing the US military has succeeded at is believing its own propaganda.
There’s good news coming out of Iraq… again. The efforts of a 65-nation coalition and punishing US airstrikes have helped local ground forces roll back gains by the Islamic State (IS).
Government forces and Shiite militias, for example, recaptured the city of Tikrit, while Kurdish troops ousted IS fighters from the town of Sinjar and other parts of northern Iraq. Last month, Iraqi troops finally pushed Islamic State militants out of most of the city of Ramadi, which the group had held since routing Iraqi forces there last spring.
In the wake of all this, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter touted “the kind of progress that the Iraqi forces are exhibiting in Ramadi, building on that success to… continue the campaign with the important goal of retaking Mosul as soon as possible.” Even more recently, he said those forces were “proving themselves not only motivated but capable.” I encountered the same upbeat tone when I asked Colonel Steve Warren, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, about the Iraqi security forces. “The last year has been a process of constructing, rebuilding, and refitting the Iraqi army,” he explained. “While it takes time for training and equipping efforts to take effect, the increasing tactical confidence and competence of the ISF [Iraqi security forces] and their recent battlefield successes indicate that we are on track.”
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WNU Editor: There is a lot of blame to pass around on the debacle in Iraq .... the Pentagon included. The above photo is from December 2011 when the last U.S. forces left Iraq, and the caption for the picture is very prophetic ....
.... Leaving for good: Soldiers close the Iraq-Kuwait border gate behind the final vehicles. There are concerns about how stable Iraq is and whether the departure of U.S. troops is too premature. December, 2011.
When U.S. forces left in 2011 there was sporadic violence and terrorism but the violence that Iraq had known for years was tempering off. The U.S. coalition and Iraqi forces had succeeded in stopping much of the fighting..... and when U.S. forces were told to leave they left the future of the country in the hands of the politicians. Since U.S. politicians (starting with President Obama) wanted no part of Iraq, the Iraqi government was left alone. I do remember that at the time the hope was that they would be able to overcome their sectarian differences .... but we now know that they did not .... hence the disaster that we have today. Flash forward to today .... the Pentagon's approach to the current conflict is confusing, and I suspect it has more to do with the White House's justifiable reluctance to get involved in another Iraqi war. Is this a success (minimizing our involvement).... many would argue yes. But in the current climate .... after so many promises and continuous wars .... many are saying no. What also does not help is the Pentagon's explanation and communications for this conflict .... they try to play the "Big Guy" in the region .... but in reality no one is really paying attention to the U.S. because everyone's agenda is now different from America's. As to what is my take on this debate .... I am in the camp that believes this entire "adventure" is trending towards a failure. Unfortunately .... we cannot just walk away .... and a new policy needs to be implemented .... probably containment" .... and accept the fact that this is not a victory while taking cold comfort that it is also not a complete failure (at least for now).
2 comments:
Iraq, destroyed by the US, with many needless casualties, wanted the US out (Obama had no choice) and doesn't want the US back. Simple as that.
Malalki wanted to back door assurances that U.S. troops would not be tried in Iraqi courts. The U.S. wanted it in writing up front.
It is not so much about wanting the troops as to the politics of punishment, pride and justice.
American troops who are convicted in Korea or Japan are in their jails. But we trust those countries to have a criminal justice system on par with ours.
That is the nub of it.
I have heard of an American prisoner, rapist, who caused trouble for the Japanese prison system. American prisoners are segregated form Japanese prisoners. Well this rapist did not like it. So the Japanese told the A
American military and state department how much trouble he was. They asked that he not be imprisoned wit the other Americans but in general population.
The Japanese politely asked and they got their way. Who wants to stand up for a rapist?
Don if you hadn't notice, but Iraq was dangerous. Where did you do your peace time gig?
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