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Another general joins ranks opposing Rumsfeld - calls for resignation (pg. 2)
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| Shakka |
| quote: | The Generals War
April 17, 2006; Page A16
So when did Generals cease to be responsible for outcomes in war? We ask that question amid the latest calls by certain retired senior military officers for Donald Rumsfeld to resign over U.S. difficulties in Iraq.
Major General Charles H. Swannack Jr., for one, was quoted last week as saying the Defense Secretary's "absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq" mean he is not "the right person" to continue leading the Pentagon. Mr. Swannack, who commanded the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, joins other ex-uniformed Iraq War critics such as former Centcom Commander Anthony Zinni and retired Army Major General John Batiste. But there's far more behind this firefight than Mr. Rumsfeld's performance.
[Anthony Zinni]
Mr. Zinni in particular neither fought the Iraq War nor supported it in the first place. He is a longtime advocate of "realism" in the Middle East, which is fancy-speak for leaving Arab dictators alone in the name of "stability." What Mr. Zinni really opposes is President Bush's "forward strategy of freedom," not the means which the Administration has waged the Iraq campaign.
As for those who've raised the issue of competence, we'd be more persuaded if they weren't so impossibly vague. If their critique is that Mr. Rumsfeld underestimated the Sunni insurgency, well, so did the CIA and military intelligence. Retired General Tommy Franks, who led and planned the campaign that toppled Saddam Hussein, took a victory lap after the invasion even as the insurgency gathered strength.
If their complaint is that Mr. Rumsfeld has since fought the insurgents with too few troops, well, what about current Centcom Commander John Abizaid? He is by far the most forceful advocate of the "small footprint" strategy -- the idea that fewer U.S. troops mean less Iraqi resentment of occupation.
Our point here isn't to join the generals, real or armchair, in pointing fingers of blame for what has gone wrong in Iraq. Mistakes are made in every war; there's a reason the word "snafu" began as a military acronym whose meaning we can't reprint in a family newspaper. But if we're going to start assigning blame, then the generals themselves are going to have to assume much of it.
A recent article by former Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor for the Center for Defense Information details how the U.S. advance on Baghdad in March and April 2003 was slowed against Mr. Rumsfeld's wishes by overcautious commanders on the scene. That may have allowed Saddam and many of his supporters to escape to fight the insurgency. General Abizaid also resisted the first assault on Fallujah, in April 2004, which sent a signal of U.S. political weakness. We don't agree with all of Mr. Macgregor's points, but it is likely that these Rumsfeld critics are trying to write their own first, rough draft of historic blame shifting.
Our own view is that the worst mistakes in Iraq have been more political than military, especially in not establishing a provisional Iraqi government from the very start. Instead, the U.S. allowed itself to be portrayed as occupiers, a fact that the insurgency exploited. But the blame for that goes well beyond Mr. Rumsfeld -- and would extend to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and to Mr. Bush himself.
Mr. Rumsfeld's largest mistake may have been giving L. Paul Bremer too free a hand to govern like a viceroy in 2003 and 2004 when a more rapid turnover of political power to Iraqis, and more rapid training of Iraqi forces, might have made a big difference. More than anything else, that unnecessary delay in Iraq's political and self-defense evolution has contributed to the current instability.
But that is for the historians to sort out. What matters now is doing what it takes to prevail in Iraq, setting up a new government and defeating the terrorists. How firing Mr. Rumsfeld will help in any of this, none of the critics say. They certainly aren't offering any better military strategy for victory.
More than likely, Mr. Rumsfeld's departure would create new problems, starting with a crisis of confidence in Iraq about American staying power. What do Mr. Rumsfeld's critics imagine Iraqis think as they watch former commanders assigning blame? And how would a Rumsfeld resignation contribute to the credible threat of force necessary to meet America's next major security challenge, which is Iran's attempt to build a nuclear bomb? Sacking the Defense Secretary mid-conflict would only reinforce the Iranian mullahs' belief that they have nothing to worry about because Americans have no stomach for a prolonged engagement in their part of the world.
The anti-Rumsfeld generals have a right to their opinion. But there's a reason the Founders provided for civilian control of the military, and a danger in military men using their presumed authority to push elected Administrations around. As for Democrats and their media allies, we can only admire their sudden new deference to the senior U.S. officer corps, which follows their strange new respect for the "intelligence community" they also once despised. U.S. military recruiters might not be welcome on Ivy League campuses, but they're heroes when they trash the Bush Administration.
Mr. Rumsfeld's departure has been loudly demanded in various quarters for a couple of years now, without much success, and on Friday Mr. Bush said he still has his every confidence. We suspect the President understands that most of those calling for Mr. Rumsfeld's head are really longing for his. |
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| Shakka |
And the thoughts of several other generals:
| quote: | In Defense of Donald Rumsfeld
By JOHN CROSBY, THOMAS MCINERNEY, BURON MOORE AND PAUL VALLELY
April 17, 2006; Page A16
Foes of the Bush administration described the recent calls by six retired generals for Donald Rumsfeld to resign or be fired as "growing military pressure" for him to do so. These retired generals claim he should go for, among other things, ignoring the advice of senior military leaders and bungling the global war on terror in Iraq with poorly planned war-fighting strategies and post-Saddam planning efforts. We strongly disagree.
Like former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers, we do not believe that it is appropriate for active duty, or retired, senior military officers to publicly criticize U.S. civilian leadership during war. Calling for the secretary's resignation during wartime may undercut the U.S. mission and incites individual challenge to the good order and discipline of our military culture. At best, such comments may send a confusing message to our troops deployed on dangerous missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. At worst, they can also inspire and motivate the evil forces we seek to defeat.
Since our nation's founding, the principle of civilian control over the military has been a centerpiece of our system of government. Under our constitutional system, it places elected and appointed government leaders in charge. American soldiers are bound by this tradition to subordinate themselves to civilian authority. We give advice but it is ultimately up to civilian leaders to make key strategic and policy decisions. Unlike many other democracies, this is one important reason why we have never been ruled by the military, and have been the most successful country the world has ever seen.
Some critics suggest that the calls by the six retired generals signify widespread discontent in the military with Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership. It is preposterous for them to suggest that this small group represents the views of the 1.4 million men and women serving on active duty or the 7,000 retired generals and flag officers who respect, understand and appreciate the established American tradition of the military being subordinate to civilian control and direction.
Moreover, despite the frustration of the current situation in Iraq, military morale remains high, as evidenced by the high re-enlistment rate of active-duty forces. This fact belies the contention that there is rising military discontent.
The notion that Secretary Rumsfeld doesn't meet with, or ignores the advice of, senior military leaders is not founded in fact. During his tenure, senior military leaders have been involved to an unprecedented degree in every decision-making process. In addition to the Senior Level Review Group, Defense Senior Leadership Conference, and Quadrennial Defense Review, in 2005 Secretary Rumsfeld also participated in meetings involving service chiefs 110 times and combatant commanders 163 times. Gen. Myers correctly describes these meetings as "very collaborative" with a free flow of information and discussion. Gen. Tommy Franks, U.S. Central Command Commander during the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq, echoes Gen. Myers's comments and supports Secretary Rumsfeld as collaborative in the decision-making process. Gen. Franks has stated recently that he is a tough collaborator and demands sound thinking and recommendations from the senior military leadership and staff.
Much of the acrimony expressed by Secretary Rumsfeld's military critics appears to stem from his efforts to "transform" the military by moving to a joint expeditionary force that is lighter and more mobile in nature to meet the nation's current and future threats. Many senior officers and bureaucrats did not support his transformation goals -- preferring conventional weapons of the past like the Crusader artillery piece and World War II war-fighting strategies, which prove practically useless against lawless and uncivilized enemies engaged in asymmetric warfare. It unfortunately appears that two of the retired generals (Messrs. Zinni and Newbold) do not understand the true nature of this radical ideology, Islamic extremism, and why we fight in Iraq. We suggest they listen to the tapes of United 93.
Despite criticisms, Mr. Rumsfeld is arguably one of the most effective secretaries of defense our nation has ever had. Under his watch, the U.S. military has been transforming; it brilliantly deposed Mullah Omar's barbaric Taliban regime (Osama bin Laden's sanctuary) and Saddam Hussein's ruthless Baathist regime, freeing 50 million people from oppression and placing the countries on democratic paths. With these actions, terrorists have been denied secure home bases. These are a few key factors why terrorists have been unable to attack the American homeland again. The policy and forward strategy implemented by Secretary Rumsfeld has taken the fight to the enemy as did the nation in World War II and the Cold War.
Some, like Generals Zinni, Newbold, Eaton, Batiste, Swannack, Riggs and others, may not like Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership style. They certainly have the right as private citizens now to speak their minds. Some may feel that he's been unfair, arrogant and autocratic to some senior officers. But those sentiments and feelings are irrelevant. In the end he's the man in charge and the buck stops with him. As long as he retains the confidence of the commander in chief he will make the important calls at the top of the department of defense. That's the way America works. So let's all breathe into a bag and get on with winning the global war against radical Islam. In time the electorate, and history, will grade their decisions.
Lt. Gen. Crosby (ret.) is former deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Lt. Gen. McInerney (ret.) is former assistant vice chief of staff, U.S. Air Force. Maj. Gen. Moore (ret.), U.S. Air Force, was director of Central Command during Operation Desert Storm. Maj. Gen. Vallely (ret.) is former deputy commander of the U.S. Army, Pacific. |
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| Lepanto |
| a handfull out of a thousands. and why are they speaking up now? if they some of them supposedly never agreed with the initial plan? They could've resigned and proven a point back then <--something that was pointed out on a CNN interview. |
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| Shakka |
I particularly liked this comment from the first editorial:
| quote: | | As for Democrats and their media allies, we can only admire their sudden new deference to the senior U.S. officer corps, which follows their strange new respect for the "intelligence community" they also once despised. U.S. military recruiters might not be welcome on Ivy League campuses, but they're heroes when they trash the Bush Administration. |
So true. |
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| Yoepus |
Great articles Shakka, read them yesterday in the WSJ...
I particularly like this part of the first one:
| quote: |
More than likely, Mr. Rumsfeld's departure would create new problems, starting with a crisis of confidence in Iraq about American staying power. What do Mr. Rumsfeld's critics imagine Iraqis think as they watch former commanders assigning blame? And how would a Rumsfeld resignation contribute to the credible threat of force necessary to meet America's next major security challenge, which is Iran's attempt to build a nuclear bomb? Sacking the Defense Secretary mid-conflict would only reinforce the Iranian mullahs' belief that they have nothing to worry about because Americans have no stomach for a prolonged engagement in their part of the world. |
Any of the ones here calling for Rummy's resignation, want to defend against the above boldened statements? |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Shakka
I particularly liked this comment from the first editorial:
So true. |
Hmmm, I guess I have a wee bit a problem with this one:
| quote: | | we can only admire their sudden new deference to the senior U.S. officer corps, which follows their strange new respect for the "intelligence community" they also once despised. |
Operation Curveball anyone?
How bout those "mobile bioweapons" labs that were known to be bull two days before Bush gave his speech, and were still reported as weapons labs by Bush and Cheney up to 4 months afterward once they were proven incorrect?
Or how about outing a covert CIA agent and knowingly doing so, and deliberately withholding information on the Niger forgeries prior to giving a compelling albeit outright false statement in the 2003 SOTU?:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/
Or cherry-picking intelligence from classified memos to leak to the press while failing to disclose credible dissenting viewpoints from those memos?
Or how about diverting the bulk of our intelligence and military efforts in catching bin Laden to a country that had nothing to do with attacking us on 9/11 in the first place and giving such a huge operation over to Afghan warlords (which some were sympathizers to the Taliban)?
Intelligence is a funnay little booger for the Shrub, so it seems.
Look, generals will be generals, and the retired ones have their opinions and up to this point have done well holding their tongues on the matter. But when something like 44% of Republicans and over 2/3 of Americans want us out of Iraq (latest Gallup poll), and when we have an ever-rising American and Iraqi civilian body count this month as well as understanding that it is primarily the IRAQI people leading the insurgency and NOT the al Qaeda terrorists, I think those generals dissenting from Rummy whose predictions about everything occurring in Iraq have turned out to be almost 100% wrong should be taken into consideration. As Wesley Clark had mentioned about these guys:
| quote: | [The Generals] don't speak out easily about matters like this, not a one of them. These are people who are speaking out with reluctance. They're speaking out only after they've searched their conscience. They're speaking out with the knowledge that they're accountable for their own opinions. They're speaking out with a great deal of trepidation, because they know that they'll be attacked. And worse than that, in the military loyalty's a very, very strong attribute. People stay with the Armed Forces because they believe in their country, but also because they're loyal to their comrades in arms. And when they have differences of opinion, they do their best to resolve them without ego. This is an organization, The United States Armed Forces, where people enter as young men and women and stay with it their entire adult lives, and all of these people who are speaking out have spent thirty years or more in uniform serving the country. So, these are not people who are self-seeking. They're not doing it for ulterior motives. They're doing it because they believe in it.
. . . I know Dicky Myers, and I have the highest regard for General Myers, but when he says that there's something improper about it, I think he misunderstands the character of the society that we're defending. When you're in uniform, you give your advice in private, and if you don't like the decisions that are made, you're free to express your opinions and opt out. . . . When you're retired, you have the right to speak publicly. Indeed I would argue, you have an obligation to do so on matters that are sensitive national security matters where you have some expertise that the general public doesn't have.
So, I disagree with the idea that these retired Generals shouldn't be speaking out. They should, and I would welcome this discussion. I think all America should hear it. It doesn't mean they're necessarily right in everything they say, but I strongly support their right to be heard.
http://securingamerica.com/printrea...kcast041706.htm |
Taken at face value those voices of a growing number of generals may not be much. But what exactly is being disputed in terms of evidence on what they are saying?
Can anyone ing tell me exactly what Rummy has gotten right with this ing Iraq debacle? |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
How bout those "mobile bioweapons" labs that were known to be bull two days before Bush gave his speech, and were still reported as weapons labs by Bush and Cheney up to 4 months afterward once they were proven incorrect? |
why cause you fell for the WaPo's premise of "Bush lied" when it was so obvious buried in the 12th paragragh of that article that two out of the three teams agreed that they were mobile labs| quote: | Originally published by WaPo
Two teams of military experts who viewed the trailers soon after their discovery concluded that the facilities were weapons labs, a finding that strongly influenced views of intelligence officials in Washington, the analysts said. "It was hotly debated, and there were experts making arguments on both sides," said one former senior official who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.
>SOURCE< |
| quote: | Or how about outing a covert CIA agent and knowingly doing so, and deliberately withholding information on the Niger forgeries prior to giving a compelling albeit outright false statement in the 2003 SOTU?:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/
Or cherry-picking intelligence from classified memos to leak to the press while failing to disclose credible dissenting viewpoints from those memos? |
did Rumsfeld do that? huh.
| quote: | | Can anyone ing tell me exactly what Rummy has gotten right with this ing Iraq debacle? |
five votes, 30 million voters and two new governments?
and...| quote: | DEMOCRACY TAKES ROOT: Democracy is spreading - from the ground up, as it should: "In the province of Dhi Qar, about 230 miles southeast of Baghdad and a backwater even by Iraq's standards, residents voting as families will have elected city councils in 16 of the 20 biggest cities by next month."
And in Baghdad, "American authorities created nine district councils... with representatives sent by 88 neighborhood advisory councils. The district councils, in turn, sent representatives to the Baghdad City Advisory Council to work with the American administration." "Every day the evidence is a little stronger that the council members understand the benefits of this system, and we even see signs out in the community of it catching on."
Meanwhile, a Western PR firm, with Arab partners, tackles the world's toughest ad campaign - selling democracy to Iraqis accustomed to life under a dictatorship.
HEALTHIER, WEALTHIER AND WISER: "[M]y salary was about 17 US$ before the war. Shortly after the war it was raised to 120 US$. Three months after that, they made it 150 US$. Two months later it became 200$... [and] from the next month... [it] will be around 300 US$" - read the whole extensive piece on salaries, unemployment, and the standard of living. It makes a fascinating living.
And there's also good news for retired government employees, who are finally getting decent pensions. And the 80,000 needy families, who are being taken care of by the Iraqi Minister of Labour and Public Affairs (with 300,000 more by the year's end). According to the Minister, Sami Azara Al Majoon: "We have rehabilitated the orphanages, the centres for the handicapped and special needs institutions in Iraq, as well as the institutions for the deaf and blind. Work is on to accommodate all the homeless and orphaned children and ensure the needs of the handicapped. In addition, we have opened 28 offices for the ministry in different parts of the country to accept applications of Iraqi citizens in search of employment and job training."
Meanwhile, on the education front, "more than five million Iraqi students are back in school and more than 51 million new Ba'ath-free textbooks are in circulation." And Iraqi universities are experiencing a brain drain in reverse, as many of the thousands of academics forced into exile under Saddam are coming back to teach the next generation of students.
And in health, "some 100,000 healthcare professionals working in 240 re-opened hospitals and 1,200 clinics." The health system has to be rebuilt almost from scratch: "[it] was 'already badly run down' due to previous wars, sanctions, drastically reduced spending - some estimates suggest the Iraqi health budget was cut by 90 per cent during the 1990s - as well as an inequitable health treatment policy."
SPIRITS REVIVE: "In a stunning upset victory, the Iraq national football team defeated Saudi Arabia tonight 3 to 1 to earn a trip to the 2004 Olympic Summer games in Athens." It's the first time in Iraq's history that Iraqi football team will compete in the Olympics. Better still, the soccer stadium in Baghdad won't be used by Saddam anymore as an outdoor torture chamber, and Iraqi soccer player know that if they fail in the future they won't be tortured by Uday Hussein.
Other areas of life previously suppressed are experiencing cultural revival - like traditional Kurdish music. "Before, Arab music was the most popular, but now even the latest albums aren't selling... Many more people are buying Kurdish music," says Niyaz Zangana, who runs the popular Zang record store in Arbil.
Not just Kurds, but also Marsh Arabs, whose homeland was destroyed by Saddam as collective punishment for rebellion, are reviving. With the marshes being reflooded and ecosystem restored, the ancient culture is returning to the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
THE RECONSTRUCTION: "Iraqi crude oil sales since last year's U.S.-led invasion hit more than $9 billion... The Coalition Provisional Authority had deposited a total of $9.28 billion in its Development Fund for Iraq."
"Some 20,000 contractors are doing business in the country with relatively few security problems... Most are sharing in the $18.4 billion that has been allocated by the U.S. government to rebuild roads, public utilities, schools, housing and other parts of the Iraq economy."
John Roberts, a contracting officer with the Army Corps of Engineers, says: "Saddam Hussein used power as a reward and punishment... Power's important to us (Americans) because we see power as relating to the people." While the Army Corps of Engineers has been mostly restoring oil infrastructure, it is also "creating and improving ports, airports, roads, bridges, schools and health clinics. The corps has replaced more than 700 electrical towers throughout Iraq, Roberts said. The goal is to restore 6,000 megawatts to the national grid by June 1. About 4,500 megawatts are currently on the national grid."
In fact, overall "about 2,200 different [reconstruction] projects worth around US$2.5 billion were under way, with 18,000 already completed. Targets had been met with oil production, which was back to 2.3 million barrels a day, clean drinking water and power."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce welcomes the establishment of an American Chamber of Commerce in Iraq -- "AmCham for short."
And while the big guys work on the big stuff, a lot of private charity work is going on under the radar, be it donations of toys for Iraqi children, helping with supplies and equipment for Iraqi schools, or this latest appeal: "In response to a request from the U.S. 1st Marine Division, Spirit of America donated 10,000 school supply kits, 3 tons of medical supplies and 2 tons of Frisbees printed with 'Friendship' in English and Arabic. These items will be given to Iraqis by the Marines as gifts of friendship from the American people."
THE SECURITY SITUATION: Fallujah is revolting and al-Sadr is stirring trouble in the Shia south, but the Kurd-controlled areas are going so well that you never hear anything about them: "American soldiers based here don't have to call in air strikes against foreign fighters or exchange gunfire with Baathist loyalists. Nor do they live in mortal fear of deadly IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, along the roadsides. In fact, says one soldier who travels in this area, 'I always see the thumbs up, and little kids offer us candies'."
Speaking of Fallujah, the US-appointed retired major-general, Mohammed Abdul-Latif, seems to be having a calming effect on the locals: "We can make [the US] use their rifles against us or we can make them build our country, it's your choice," he has told "a gathering of more than 40 sheikhs, city council members and imams in an eastern Fallujah suburb... As he spoke, many sheikhs nodded in approval and listened with reverence. Later, they clasped his hands and patted him on the back."
Elsewhere, "Accused of being collaborators with American occupation forces, Iraqi policemen, guards, and soldiers have endured ridicule, threats, and targeted violence that have left hundreds dead over the past year. But there are signs that hard-nosed attitudes toward the country's embattled, US-trained security forces are beginning to soften."
THE REAL PRISONER ABUSE: The story of nine Iraqis sent to Abu Ghraib prison on flimsy charges, tortured, mutilated and filmed for amusement. By Saddam Hussein. The nine men in question had their hands chopped off; now Americans are giving them new ones.
THE MIDDLE EASTERN DOMINOES: "We went to the Arab countries and said, 'Look, you need to come together with a blueprint for Arab reform. If you do not articulate such a blueprint, one may be forced upon you.' We in Jordan are in the clear: We have our plans and are not using regional problems as an excuse. We are moving forward, as are some of the other moderate countries. But the rest of you, 'Wake up!' The Middle East is changing. If you don't get that process going, one will be forced on you." - King Abdullah of Jordan in an interview with "Washington Post".
REBUILDING THE SOCIETY: Democracy is moving forward, step by step. "[O]ver time, the councils have been encouraged to get involved in decisions that affect their lives - be they building health clinics, providing subsidized cooking fuel or setting up US-style neighborhood watches against crime - and some progress has been made. Councilors across Iraq have taken more initiative while their US facilitators have grown more passive by design," writes "Christian Science Monitor" (kudos to that newspaper for being the only one to consistently cover the reconstruction of Iraq).
If you're wondering why the process can be sometimes so difficult, bear in mind the price those good civically-minded Iraqis have to pay: "An official at the Baghdad City Council says 52 neighborhood and district councilors have been killed since the middle of last year" (quoted in the same story). Now think what shape the local government would be in your area if councilors were being regularly gunned down. Then spare a thought for the brave Iraqis. And while you're at it, read this op-piece by Mark Steyn about building Iraqi democracy from the ground up.
In other news, Iraq will have its first post-war census. One that won't be used as a political exercise: "Several counts were carried out when Saddam was in power but many Iraqis say they were tempered with in order to advance the ruling Baath party's political and economic pursuits. The results of these counts are now being disputed by Kurds and the majority Shiite Muslims in the country."
With Iraq now freed from Saddam's tyranny, exiles are flowing back in, many of them rich in skills and expertise and keen to pass them onto their fellow countrymen and women - we're talking about people like Maysoon Patchachi and Kasim Abid who are opening a film school to train Iraqi artists.
While we're on the topic of higher education, bet you never heard of a new high-tech Shia university at Hilla, south of Baghdad. "Through a radical program to educate young religious leaders Qazwini [the university's founder] and his students want to make Islam synonymous with tolerance, human-rights and democracy, while they have little time for the Shia establishment led by Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf whose they feel offer little guidance for dealing with contemporary life... 'Some religious people who want to represent Islam want to return us to the Middle Ages'," says one of the students. " 'Islam must deal with the issues of contemporary society. They should focus on today's issues such as globalisation, democracy and modern life'." Are we seeing the beginnings of Islamic Reformation?
Elsewhere in Iraq, efforts to become a normal country continue. In a region where having visited Israel can prevent you from being let into Arab countries, this next Kurdish initiative seems particularly enlightened: "Iraqi Kurdish Jews who migrated to Israel are free to visit relatives in northern Iraq, a Kurdish leader said... 'Muslims and Jews in Iraq were connected through marriage - and those who visit Iraq are not Israeli only but Iraqi Jews'." The report goes to say that "at least 100 Israeli companies are vying to set a foot in the [Kurdish] region" - which would be a first.
Lastly, read about Rasool Sharif, a podiatrist and an owner of the Foot & Ankle Clinic in Naples, Florida, who is traveling back to Iraq, to run for the President in 2005, possibly with Ayatollah Sistani's blessing.
RECONSTRUCTION: How about that economy? "It's the Iraq you don't hear about, one with falling unemployment, rising wages, lower interest rates and higher foreign investment". In fact, the economy is going so well, that hundreds of thousands of Iranians are believed to have crossed into Iraq since the fall of Saddam, looking for work, setting up businesses and buying property.
As always, the Kurd-controlled areas are doing particularly well: "The Kurdish local government in Arbil, run by Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, has drawn up plans for a major facelift of the ancient city. Projects worth $300 million are in the pipeline which, according to the local Municipalities Minister Abdulmuheimen al-Barzani, are expected to turn Arbil into a modern city." Amongst those plans - some of the largest supermarkets in the Middle East. And while the Kurds are going very well, Baghdad is bustling with construction work, with huge demand for building materials driving prices up.
Overall, "[t]he Trade Ministry has registered more than 2,000 Iraqi and foreign firms since the fall of the former regime more than a year ago. The ministry has scrapped regulations the ousted leader Saddam Hussein had issued to give favorable treatment in trade matters to firms and countries supporting his domestic and political agendas. The ministry says it now purse what it describes as 'open door policy' under which all firms, regardless of their origin, are welcome to contribute in reconstructing the country." Oil for Food? What was that?
Some readers took me to task about relying on the official electricity generation figures and targets: apparently the goalposts keep being moved. That might well be the case - but just before you get too self-righteous about the Coalition authorities not doing enough to provide sufficient electricity, bear this in mind: "Across the flat landscape of the southern provinces, there lies row upon row of electricity pylons with their tops broken and bent. Some are the result of sabotage to stop electricity generated in the south of Iraq flowing to Baghdad. Others have been stripped of their copper for resale." Rebuilding the grid is difficult enough without constant sabotage. Then there's also the problem of additional demand, as Iraqis can now afford to buy electrical equipment like air conditioners. Oh, and the fact that terrorists are targeting Western contractors who are trying to rebuild the infrastructure.
The situation is similar with oil production: "There has been a significant rise in attacks aimed at disrupting oil output and exports, the Oil Ministry says. 'Rarely a day passes without a terrorist attack on one of our installations,' the ministry said in a report... Ministry officials say they were hoping to lift output to more than 3 million barrels a day by this time of the year but 'terrorist operations' have scuttled their efforts." Still, there's good news: "The Southern Oil Company has boosted output to 2.1 million barrels a day, the rate it had reached shortly before the United States toppled Saddam Hussein's regime last year. Officials at the company describe the new production level 'a miracle' because the war and subsequent looting and sabotage had wreaked havoc in almost all facilities." A miracle indeed. Memo to the left: after your neigbour's house gets regularly broken into, and vandalised and trashed, you don't complain of your poor neigbour that he lives like a pig.
In other economic news, according to a survey sponsored by the Center for International Private Enterprise (an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) of four hundred small business owners and managers in twenty Iraqi cities and smaller towns, "[a]fter three decades of state domination of the Iraqi economy, small- and medium-sized businesses in that country are poised to rebuild Iraq's private sector." Iraq's small business entrepreneurs overwhelmingly predict a stronger economy in the short term, and are planning to expand.
Meanwhile, the Iraq American Chamber of Commerce and Industry is offering Iraqi businesswomen an opportunity to participate in the Business Internship Program, to help them learn management and business skills while working in the U.S. business environment. Read also this post on how Fullbright scholarships are trying to build better understanding between Iraqi and Americans.
HUMANITARIAN EFFORT: Iraqi education system is being rebuilt - slowly: after years of neglect under Saddam and post-liberation looting, of "14,924 schools in Iraq... 80 percent of them (11,939) need some sort of repair following the looting when the former regime fell. Some 40 percent (5,970) need major rehabilitation and 9 percent (1,343) are in need of demolition or rebuilding." USAID has already spent $74 million through primary education activities and approximately $70 million through secondary education activities on its Year 1 Education Program.
And while we're on the topic of education, foreigners are now allowed to open and operate private schools in Iraq. Under Saddam, foreign schools were expropriated and education nationalised.
Speaking of USAID, it has been working with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund to assists Iraqis in reconstructing their country on literally hundreds of projects. All with almost nil publicity. Why bother about 2,358 schools rehabilitated countrywide or rebuilding key bridges when there's a new photo of prisoner on a leash to be published?
World Bank is also doing a lot of largely unpublicised good work: "In addition to improving the infrastructure on the ground, such as the rehabilitation of 700 schools, the Bank is focusing on building up the country's' human capital, through training programs for Iraqi civil servants, business women and private commercial bankers, and providing policy advice."
The health system, just as the education system, is in similar need for a radical overhaul: "Iraq's healthcare system, once the Middle East's leader, has become the most deprived in the region, according to both Iraq's Health Minister and a high ranking World Bank official... '[T]he country has been pretty well cut-off for the last 10 to 20 years'." However, "the situation could rapidly improve if oil revenues over the next year are directed to boosting health care. In addition, the 2004 budget for health care is now $950 million ($40 per person), compared to $16 million (less than 75 cents per person) in 2002. For the whole country, the WHO estimates that $20 million per month is all that is needed to keep the health system functioning."
While you're at it, why don't you read a bit more about restoring the fragile marsh ecosystems so that Marsh Arabs can return to their traditional ways. Here's how Western expertise and local knowledge make it all happen.
OUR TROOPS ON THE GROUND: No, they don't all torture prisoners and shoot civilians, although you'd be forgiven for thinking that's the case. "This is my third deployment with the 1st Marine Division to the Middle East. This is the third time I've heard the quavering cries of the talking heads predicting failure and calling for withdrawal. This is the third time I find myself shaking my head in disbelief... Nothing any talking head will say can deter me or my fellow Marines from caring about the people of Iraq" - read the whole piece by this Marine intelligence officer.
By the way, if you were concerned about the practice of "hooding" prisoners, spare a thought for prisoners who are not hooded and when released become victims of reprisals by Iraqis who believe them to be members of the old regime: one such man "was seized, tied to a post and had all of his teeth pulled by a baying mob armed with pliers. The teeth were placed in a plastic container and handed back to the man, before he was marched across to where his wife and child were waiting. He was executed in front of them with a bullet through the back of the head." Doesn't make hooding such a bad idea, does it?
Back on the streets, the Coalition forces are under constant threat as they move through "rough neighbourhoods". In response, this: "To placate the nearly two million Muslim Shiites living in a poor Baghdad district, US troops have earmarked $51.7 million to upgrade its devastated utilities." Other units, such as the Alabama National Guard's 214th Military Police Company, have other pursuits in Iraq: "We played a major role in establishing the first Baghdad Police Academy. We succeeded there and we handed it off to others up and running. We graduated three classes of police officers, with 1,000 to 1,500 in each class," says Company's Sgt. Frederick White.
Meanwhile, "Australian troops are winning the battle for hearts and minds in their sector of strife-torn Baghdad by 'adopting' the children of the local kindergarten."
And the actor Gary Sinise, who played Lt Dan in "Forest Gump" had this to say after visiting Iraqi hospitals: "I also saw a beautiful interaction between our Soldiers and the Iraqi children. The kids I saw on my second trip to Iraq with Wayne Newton in November 2003 were loving our Soldiers and were so grateful to them for having liberated them from Saddam Hussein. It was a tremendous feeling to see these children hugging and kissing our Soldiers, cheering them with the thumbs up sign and in broken English saying, 'I love you'... Good things are happening over there [Iraq]. On the nightly news it looks like all hell is breaking loose, but I know, from being over there, there's another side to the story."
SECURITY SITUATION: Fallujah still quiet. And down south, al-Sadr keeps losing ground, withdrawing from Karbala, and being squeezed in Najaf.
This report on another strategy to combat violence: "This week the army tried a new approach to silence Iraqi guns: Buy them. In their first program of its kind in Baghdad, American troops engaged in a weapons buyback program. It began on Saturday and was so popular that it was extended for another two days. By Tuesday night hundreds of Iraqis had been paid $761,357 for 56,536 items, from bullets to assault rifles to mortars and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, according to the military." How capitalist of the Americans.
Have you heard of a new Iraqi militia called the "Black Flag"? Until yesterday, neither have I. Possibly because they are not anti-American. "Twenty men slinging Kalashnikovs, Sterling sub-machineguns, and an assortment of pistols sauntered down a main street in the Baghdad neighborhood of al-Adhamiya one recent Friday afternoon ready for business. As locals watch anxiously, the men tore down pro-Baathist and anti-Coalition posters, a common sight in this pro-Saddam district. Then they replaced the posters with leaflets of their own, vowing attacks on 'terrorists'." The militia claims it has 5,000 members coming from Sunni, Shia and Kurd groups. Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army coincidently is also said to have a few thousand members, but it gets lot more publicity - maybe Black Flag should start killing Americans.
Had enough? Now back to prisoner abuse, al-Sadr, terrorism, prisoner abuse... |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
why cause you fell for the WaPo's premise of "Bush lied" when it was so obvious buried in the 12th paragragh of that article that two out of the three teams agreed that they were mobile labs |
Not really. The fact that a dissenting view from a team of Pentagon specialists was suppressed speaks volumes enough, especially when it was validated by Duelfer:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq...hap6_annxD.html
Which blew away the CIA/DIA white paper completely, and rightfully so. What's interesting is how this dissenting view was labeled "secret" and then shelved for over a year.
Now why did that happen? Now I realize it is a bit difficult to believe Rummy/Cheney/Wolfowitz' DIA stovepipe group or Tenet's "slam dunk" CIA at times, but what was clear in the WaPost report was that there were numerous calls and emails between the survey team and the White House during their entire trip, and it also became clear they were about to debunk the CIA/DIA white paper:
| quote: | "Within the first four hours," said one team member, who like the others spoke on the condition he not be named, "it was clear to everyone that these were not biological labs."
News of the team's early impressions leaped across the Atlantic well ahead of the technical report. Over the next two days, a stream of anxious e-mails and phone calls from Washington pressed for details and clarifications.
The reason for the nervousness was soon obvious: In Washington, a CIA analyst had written a draft white paper on the trailers, an official assessment that would also reflect the views of the DIA. The white paper described the trailers as "the strongest evidence to date that Iraq was hiding a biological warfare program." It also explicitly rejected an explanation by Iraqi officials, described in a New York Times article a few days earlier, that the trailers might be mobile units for producing hydrogen.
But the technical team's preliminary report, written in a tent in Baghdad and approved by each team member, reached a conclusion opposite from that of the white paper. |
What's interesting and painfully clear is that Rummy and the DIA knew since May 25th that their white paper wasn't gonna hold water. Christ, even Judy Kneepads Miller knew this wasn't gonna hold back in June 7th of '03:
| quote: | American and British intelligence analysts with direct access to the evidence are disputing claims that the mysterious trailers found in Iraq were for making deadly germs. In interviews over the last week, they said the mobile units were more likely intended for other purposes and charged that the evaluation process had been damaged by a rush to judgment.
"Everyone has wanted to find the 'smoking gun' so much that they may have wanted to have reached this conclusion," said one intelligence expert who has seen the trailers and, like some others, spoke on condition that he not be identified. He added, "I am very upset with the process."
The Bush administration has said the two trailers, which allied forces found in Iraq in April and May, are evidence that Saddam Hussein was hiding a program for biological warfare. In a white paper last week, it publicly detailed its case, even while conceding discrepancies in the evidence and a lack of hard proof.
Now, intelligence analysts stationed in the Middle East, as well as in the United States and Britain, are disclosing serious doubts about the administration's conclusions in what appears to be a bitter debate within the intelligence community. Skeptics said their initial judgments of a weapon application for the trailers had faltered as new evidence came to light.
In effect, early conclusions by agents on the ground that the trailers were indeed mobile units to produce germs for weapons have since been challenged.
"I have no great confidence that it's a fermenter," a senior analyst with long experience in unconventional arms said of a tank for multiplying seed germs into lethal swarms. The government's public report, he added, "was a rushed job and looks political." This analyst had not seen the trailers himself, but reviewed evidence from them.
The skeptical experts said the mobile plants lacked gear for steam sterilization, normally a prerequisite for any kind of biological production, peaceful or otherwise. Its lack of availability between production runs would threaten to let in germ contaminants, resulting in failed weapons.
Second, if this shortcoming were somehow circumvented, each unit would still produce only a relatively small amount of germ-laden liquid, which would have to undergo further processing at some other factory unit to make it concentrated and prepare it for use as a weapon.
Finally, they said, the trailers have no easy way for technicians to remove germ fluids from the processing tank.
Some doubters noted that the intelligence community was still scrambling to analyze the trailers, suggesting that the white paper may have been premature. They said laboratories in the Middle East and the United States were now analyzing more than 100 samples from the trailers to verify the intelligence findings. Allied forces, they noted, have so far failed to find any of the envisioned support vehicles that the trailers would need to produce biological weapons.
One skeptic questioned the practicality of some of the conjectural steps the Iraqis are envisioned as having taken to adapt the trailers to the job of making deadly germs.
"It's not built and designed as a standard fermenter," he said of the central tank. "Certainly, if you modify it enough you could use it. But that's true of any tin can."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/07/i...ial/07TRAI.html |
Yet the administration continued touting it with their chests high.
Maybe if this incident was isolated by itself it may not be much worth pointing a finger. However I think the case has been well made here and elsewhere that this is not isolated by any stretch of the imagination on bolstering evidence to support the case for war while suppressing any and all dissenting intelligence views.
And who turned out to be correct in the end, according to Duelfer, Kay, 9/11 Commission and SSCI reports?
| quote: | | did Rumsfeld do that? huh. |
Sorry, I wasn't referring to Rummy specifically, but to the Administration as a whole since the quote was a generalized "intelligence community" swipe at Democrats.
| quote: | five votes, 30 million voters and two new governments?
and... |
Yes, 47 dead American soldiers this month so far, up from 31 from all of March, fastly approaching 2500, an Islamic fundamentalist "democracy" installed that's in love with the Iranian Shiite regime, and an open sectarian battle continuing to brew louder and louder:
| quote: | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snipers held rooftop positions as masked Sunni Arab insurgents said they were gearing up for another open street battle with pro-government Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad's Adhamiya district on Tuesday. [...]
Fighting was so fierce that U.S. reinforcements were brought in to the northern district, home to some of Iraq's most hardcore Sunni guerrillas and the Abu Hanifa mosque, near where Saddam Hussein was last seen in public before going into hiding. [...]
It appeared to be the first example of a large-scale, open sectarian street battle in the capital, if not all of Iraq.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/new...&archived=False |
Or in the Dora district:
| quote: | Full-scale civil war may not have broken out in Iraq, but startling signs of sectarian hatred are evident along several streets in the religiously mixed Dora neighborhood. [...]
In Dora these days, rows of homes sit empty and abandoned. The streets show signs of desperate attempts to craft barriers from palm tree trunks and rusty washing machines. And there are countless crude threats scrawled in black spray paint.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...6041800891.html |
And here the U.S. is preparing for a "second liberation of Bagdad":
| quote: | Helicopters suitable for urban warfare, such as the manoeuvrable AH-6 "Little Birds" used by the marines and special forces and armed with rocket launchers and machineguns, are likely to complement the ground attack.
The sources said American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams -- an acronym for "sewage, water, electricity and trash" -- to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...2136297,00.html |
Can't wait for another "shock and awe", can you?
Sure do love that "democracy", American-invasion style. And why no love from Britain for our next invasion into Iran? I just don't get it. Maybe we should invade Blair's country next instead...... |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
And here the U.S. is preparing for a "second liberation of Bagdad":
Can't wait for another "shock and awe", can you?
Sure do love that "democracy", American-invasion style. And why no love from Britain for our next invasion into Iran? I just don't get it. |
but i thought you said Bush lied?
not gonna happen. either accounts. laugh it up though funny boy :haha:
i like Brit Hume >video< |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by MisterOpus1
Or how about outing a covert CIA agent and knowingly doing so, and deliberately withholding information on the Niger forgeries prior to giving a compelling albeit outright false statement in the 2003 SOTU?: |
from the Butler Report
| quote: | 492. In the course of the first Gulf war, the facilities involved in this indigenous route were severely damaged. Subsequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervised the dismantlement of all the facilities that Iraq had built to process, enrich and fabricate uranium, and removed all potentially fissile material. Some unprocessed uranium ore was left in country, but under IAEA safeguards and subject to regular inspections. Iraq would therefore have had to seek imports of uranium or uranium ore if it wished to restart its nuclear programme covertly.
493. In early 1999, Iraqi officials visited a number of African countries, including Niger. The visit2 was detected by intelligence, and some details were subsequently confirmedby Iraq. The purpose of the visit was not immediately known. But uranium ore accounts for almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports. Putting this together with past Iraqi purchases of uraniumore fromNiger, the limitations faced by the Iraq regime on access to indigenous uranium ore and other evidence of Iraq seeking to restart its nuclear programme, the JIC judged that Iraqi purchase of uraniumore could have been the subject of discussions and noted in an assessment in December 2000 that: ...unconfirmed intelligence indicates Iraqi interest in acquiring uranium.
494. There was further and separate intelligence that in 1999 the Iraqi regime had also made inquiries about the purchase of uranium ore in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this case, there was some evidence that by 2002 an agreement for a sale had been reached.
495. During 2002, the UK received further intelligence fromadditional sources which identified the purpose of the visit to Niger as having been to negotiate the purchase of uranium ore, though there was disagreement as to whether a sale had been agreed and uranium shipped.
497. In preparing the dossier, the UK consulted the US. The CIA advised caution about any suggestion that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring uranium from Africa, but agreed that there was evidence that it had been sought.
499. We conclude that, on the basis of the intelligence assessments at the time, covering both Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the statements on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa in the Government’s dossier, and by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, were well-founded. By extension, we conclude also that the statement in President Bush’s State of the Union Address of 28 January 2003 that:
The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
was well-founded.
503. From our examination of the intelligence and other material on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa, we have concluded that:
a. It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999.
b. The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports, the intelligence was credible.
c. The evidence was not conclusive that Iraq actually purchased, as opposed to having sought, uranium and the British Government did not claim this.
d. The forged documents were not available to the British Government at the time its assessment was made, and so the fact of the forgery does not undermine it. |
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| MisterOpus1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
but i thought you said Bush lied? |
Perhaps you could be more specific and how that addresses my point?
| quote: | not gonna happen. either accounts. laugh it up though funny boy :haha:
i like Brit Hume >video< |
I like the easter bunny, caramel apples, and fluffy clouds.
Do you like those things too?
I guess I'm not that crazy about Hume, however:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200511040016 |
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