Five days ago the Iraqi government began a crackdown in Basra on the lawless militia followers of Moqtada al Sadr. The fighting quickly spread to Baghdad and other Shiite towns like Nasiriya, Ku, Hilla and Diwaniyah, all places that are familiar to me and that I visited many times. The reasons for this new outbreak of fighting is not very well understood by many Americans. I have even received an email asking, in essence, "I thought you said that the surge was working?"
The actions taken by the Iraqi government in the last few days are extremely important for the future of that government as well as for the Iraqi people. To be effective any government must have sole control on the use of force within the boundaries of the nation. Sadr's militia, the so-called Mahdi Army, have between 40 - 60,000 (estimates vary) followers operating from majority Shia areas throughout central and southern Iraq. Sadr has influence, but not necessarily control over these groups of what are essentially armed gangs. These gangs are heavily involved in criminal activity.
The Mahdi Army is nothing new. These gangs were just beginning to form when I was in Iraq in 2003 - 2004. I remember clearly one day when I was in An Najaf an Iraqi told me Sadr followers were stockpiling arms and ammunition in mosques in the city. In April 2004 Ambassador Bremer tried to crack down on Sadr but the result was an armed Shia uprising in south-central Iraq that the Coailtion Multi-National Division was unable to suppress. American forces moved in to do the job and restore order. In August 2004 Sadr tried to use force again in the city of Najaf. The Marines and the Iraqi Army were called in and the Mahdi Army suffered considerable casualties before a truce was brokered.
The military defeats of Sadr in 2004 caused him to change strategy. Sadr began to work the political arena, although he kept his Mahdi Army armed and ready. Sadr began to bide his time, waiting for the moment when the Americans would leave and he could renew his effort to turn Iraq into his own version of an Islamist, fascist state.
This week the Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki decided to take on Sadr and his Mahdi Army. This was not a sudden, impulsive decision but one taken after consultations with the Americans and his partners in the government. This dirty job needed to be done but the security situation and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces was never such as to be able to perform the task. I can only hope that the Iraqi Army is up to the task. Sadr is calling for a ceasefire so he must be worried that his military force will be chewed to pieces if they were to try to take on the Army.
This is a risky endeavor by Prime Minister Maliki. He can't fail. Should he fail in all likelihood he would lose his job. The consequences of failure are great, not only for the Iraqis but for the Americans and the Presidential election.
The New York Times is already saying the the Iraqi government operation has stalled. This is like calling the game as over after two minutes of the first quarter. I believe that the battle has just begun, and the outcome will not be known for weeks. We shall see.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The fifth anniversary of the war
Five years ago this week I was sitting in Ft. Bragg, N.C., wondering if the war would start before the Pentagon shipped me and my comrades to Kuwait to join the rest of the invasion force. My presence in Kuwait was not necessary for the successful initiation of the invasion but I wanted to be there anyway. For six months I had known that I would play a small part in history and this knowledge had consumed my life, almost to the exclusion of everything else.
I was one of thousands of civil affairs reservists that the Army had mobilized and assembled in Ft. Bragg in the middle of February. Before that, I had been living in Norristown, Pennsylvania helping to prepare the unit to go to war. I had been preparing for this moment for almost thirty years - a time when I could use the expensive training that the Army had invested in me.
When I flew back to Norristown after visiting my family over Thanksgiving I wasn't sure when I would see them again. In December four members of our unit, including my good friend Colonel Larry West, were mobilized as a planning team. Their mission was to go to Kuwait and link up with the unit that we were assigned to support, the First Marine Expeditionary Force. This seemed like one more sign that we were going to war. But our mobilization order didn't come in December and I returned home to my family for the holidays.
When I returned to Norristown in January I said good bye to my wife and children a second time not knowing when I would see them again. Almost every day in January the Pentagon issued mobilization orders for Army Reserve units throughout the nation. The newscast were full of diplomatic maneuvering and troops flowing into Kuwait. I had never lived through such tense, uncertain and exciting times. Yet, as the end of January arrived we had still not received any mobilization orders.
On February 8 I flew to Orlando for the weekend to see my family. When my wife dropped me off at the airport one more time we didn't really say good bye. Our emotions weren't able to take it anymore. On February 15 our unit was mobilized. We were to spend the next five weeks in Ft. Bragg waiting for an airplane ride that would not seem to come. During that time my 25th wedding anniversary on March 10 came and went. I was to spend our 26th wedding anniversary in Kuwait waiting to return home.
On a cold, rainy evening on March 19 in the drafty, wooden barracks where we had been living I listened to a radio broadcast of the President's speech announcing the beginning of the war. After all the work and preparation I was disappointed that we were not in Kuwait. In two days, though, I boarded a United Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Kuwait. For me, the war had begun.
I was one of thousands of civil affairs reservists that the Army had mobilized and assembled in Ft. Bragg in the middle of February. Before that, I had been living in Norristown, Pennsylvania helping to prepare the unit to go to war. I had been preparing for this moment for almost thirty years - a time when I could use the expensive training that the Army had invested in me.
When I flew back to Norristown after visiting my family over Thanksgiving I wasn't sure when I would see them again. In December four members of our unit, including my good friend Colonel Larry West, were mobilized as a planning team. Their mission was to go to Kuwait and link up with the unit that we were assigned to support, the First Marine Expeditionary Force. This seemed like one more sign that we were going to war. But our mobilization order didn't come in December and I returned home to my family for the holidays.
When I returned to Norristown in January I said good bye to my wife and children a second time not knowing when I would see them again. Almost every day in January the Pentagon issued mobilization orders for Army Reserve units throughout the nation. The newscast were full of diplomatic maneuvering and troops flowing into Kuwait. I had never lived through such tense, uncertain and exciting times. Yet, as the end of January arrived we had still not received any mobilization orders.
On February 8 I flew to Orlando for the weekend to see my family. When my wife dropped me off at the airport one more time we didn't really say good bye. Our emotions weren't able to take it anymore. On February 15 our unit was mobilized. We were to spend the next five weeks in Ft. Bragg waiting for an airplane ride that would not seem to come. During that time my 25th wedding anniversary on March 10 came and went. I was to spend our 26th wedding anniversary in Kuwait waiting to return home.
On a cold, rainy evening on March 19 in the drafty, wooden barracks where we had been living I listened to a radio broadcast of the President's speech announcing the beginning of the war. After all the work and preparation I was disappointed that we were not in Kuwait. In two days, though, I boarded a United Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Kuwait. For me, the war had begun.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
The Europeans
In less than two decades, there have been American campaigns of rescue in Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Two of these American wars, the ones in the Balkans, were on behalf of Muslims stranded in a hostile European landscape. In its refusal to acknowledge the debt owed American power, Muslim society tells us a good deal about its modern condition, and about that false, mindless anti-Americanism on the loose in Muslim lands.
- Fouad Ajami, in the Wall Street Journal, February 29, 2008
In April 1996 I traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina as a part of NATO's Implementation Force or IFOR. I still have my IFOR identification card. When I was stationed in Germany from 1975-1978 I traveled throughout Europe and even Yugoslavia, but I had never before been to Bosnia. In 1978 I traveled along the Dalmatian coast through what is now Croatia, then around Albania and through Macedonia to get to Greece.
In April 1996 Bosnia was still very much a war torn country. This fragile nation was bisected by the Inter Entity Boundary Line (IEBL), a scar of fortifications, minefields and shattered buildings. The most remarkable part of my journey was seeing the Muslim minarets rising from the center of European towns. Bosnia had the misfortune to be at the geographic center of the battle between three religions: the Russian Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and Islam. To this day I can't understand why such a conflict in the back yard of the European Union required the assistance of the United States military and my own precious time to resolve.
Fortunately, in 1999 the United States was able to lead the helpless Europeans to the assistance of the Kosovar Muslims with out my help. I would have gone if asked, but at that time I was busy assisting the Colombian military to fight a vicious thirty year insurgency.
Considering the Europeans could hardly handle the smaller Bosnian and Kosovo problems we are asking a lot that they travel half way around the world to save Afghanistan from Islamic extremism. They are providing troops for the effort, and we should be grateful for small favors. But their instructions to the troops that they offer are to avoid risk, which means no casualties and definitely very little fighting. Except in self defense, of course.
While Fouad Ajami rightly brings up the unreasoning attitudes of the Muslim lands to American accomplishments, I see plenty of "false, mindless anti-Americanism" in European lands that we have rescued on multiple occasions. But I shouldn't complain. The actions we took were not done to seek approval of the world, but because they were the right thing to do.
For this reason, I am not disturbed at the current unpopularity of the U.S. in the world. I am proud that we have the clear vision to be able to do what must be done.
- Fouad Ajami, in the Wall Street Journal, February 29, 2008
In April 1996 I traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina as a part of NATO's Implementation Force or IFOR. I still have my IFOR identification card. When I was stationed in Germany from 1975-1978 I traveled throughout Europe and even Yugoslavia, but I had never before been to Bosnia. In 1978 I traveled along the Dalmatian coast through what is now Croatia, then around Albania and through Macedonia to get to Greece.
In April 1996 Bosnia was still very much a war torn country. This fragile nation was bisected by the Inter Entity Boundary Line (IEBL), a scar of fortifications, minefields and shattered buildings. The most remarkable part of my journey was seeing the Muslim minarets rising from the center of European towns. Bosnia had the misfortune to be at the geographic center of the battle between three religions: the Russian Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and Islam. To this day I can't understand why such a conflict in the back yard of the European Union required the assistance of the United States military and my own precious time to resolve.
Fortunately, in 1999 the United States was able to lead the helpless Europeans to the assistance of the Kosovar Muslims with out my help. I would have gone if asked, but at that time I was busy assisting the Colombian military to fight a vicious thirty year insurgency.
Considering the Europeans could hardly handle the smaller Bosnian and Kosovo problems we are asking a lot that they travel half way around the world to save Afghanistan from Islamic extremism. They are providing troops for the effort, and we should be grateful for small favors. But their instructions to the troops that they offer are to avoid risk, which means no casualties and definitely very little fighting. Except in self defense, of course.
While Fouad Ajami rightly brings up the unreasoning attitudes of the Muslim lands to American accomplishments, I see plenty of "false, mindless anti-Americanism" in European lands that we have rescued on multiple occasions. But I shouldn't complain. The actions we took were not done to seek approval of the world, but because they were the right thing to do.
For this reason, I am not disturbed at the current unpopularity of the U.S. in the world. I am proud that we have the clear vision to be able to do what must be done.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Political reconciliation in Iraq
“Using old-fashioned behind-the-scenes politicking, Iraq’s Parliamentary leaders pushed through three divisive laws that had been delayed for months by bitter maneuvering between factions and, recently, threats to dissolve the legislative body. More than any legislation approved so far, the three measures have the potential to spur reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites and set the country on the road to a more representative government…"
"Supporters of the American troop increase in 2007 touted it as a way to stabilize the country, bringing Iraqi politicians the political space they needed to pass legislation that could pave the way for reconciliation between the sects. For months it appeared that little was moving on the political front, but now it seems that the decline in violence did contribute to a change in the atmosphere.”
- New York Times, Feb 13, 2008
"At this point in the Democratic primary season, even a a delaration of surrenderby Qaeda in Iraq would probably be treated as further evidence of Bush Administration incompetence."
- The Wall Street Journal Feb 14, 2004
I would add the link to the New York Times quote but the editors have evidently slipped these two paragrahgs down the memory hole, a la 1984. Google remembers that they were there, and if you search any of the phrases in the quote Google will point you to an article on the achievement of the Iraqi parliament, but those two paragraphs are now conspicuously absent.
Oh, well, I guess that good news about Iraq is not "fit to print" in the nations's newspaper of record.
Regardless of the news coverage, this was a big deal. The Iraqis passed a budget for 2008, approved an important law on provincial government and authorized amnesty of thousands of Sunnis held in detention. They actually figured out how to compromise. They're learning.
The Continental Congress of the American colonies adopted out orginal governing document in 1777 after a year of debate. The Articles of Confederation, however, were not finally ratified by all the states until 1781. The Articles proved unworkable so we through the mess out and adopted out current Constitution on 1788. This performance was by a group of gentlemen who were very familiar with the theory and practice of democratic government.
I believe that the Iraqis are closely observing the American Presidential contest. I would expect more compromises out of the Iraqis as the year progresses and the Presidential race heats up.
"Supporters of the American troop increase in 2007 touted it as a way to stabilize the country, bringing Iraqi politicians the political space they needed to pass legislation that could pave the way for reconciliation between the sects. For months it appeared that little was moving on the political front, but now it seems that the decline in violence did contribute to a change in the atmosphere.”
- New York Times, Feb 13, 2008
"At this point in the Democratic primary season, even a a delaration of surrenderby Qaeda in Iraq would probably be treated as further evidence of Bush Administration incompetence."
- The Wall Street Journal Feb 14, 2004
I would add the link to the New York Times quote but the editors have evidently slipped these two paragrahgs down the memory hole, a la 1984. Google remembers that they were there, and if you search any of the phrases in the quote Google will point you to an article on the achievement of the Iraqi parliament, but those two paragraphs are now conspicuously absent.
Oh, well, I guess that good news about Iraq is not "fit to print" in the nations's newspaper of record.
Regardless of the news coverage, this was a big deal. The Iraqis passed a budget for 2008, approved an important law on provincial government and authorized amnesty of thousands of Sunnis held in detention. They actually figured out how to compromise. They're learning.
The Continental Congress of the American colonies adopted out orginal governing document in 1777 after a year of debate. The Articles of Confederation, however, were not finally ratified by all the states until 1781. The Articles proved unworkable so we through the mess out and adopted out current Constitution on 1788. This performance was by a group of gentlemen who were very familiar with the theory and practice of democratic government.
I believe that the Iraqis are closely observing the American Presidential contest. I would expect more compromises out of the Iraqis as the year progresses and the Presidential race heats up.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Why I voted for John McCain
For the first time in my life, a week before a Presidential primary, I was undecided on the candidate for which I was going to cast my vote. That is, I was undecided for which Republican Presidential candidate I was going to vote since I have never voted for any Democratic candidates in the ten Presidential elections in which I have participated.
My long stated overriding criteria upon which I was going to select a candidate was his ability to beat whoever the Democratic party nominated. With this singular factor holding sway over my decision I was hampered by the inability of any candidate in either party to demonstrate that they were going to get the nomination.
There are a number of reasons that I am opposed to Senators Obama and Clinton. The primary reason for my opposition is their stated policies on the war in Iraq. If I had to choose between the two (and I don't) I would choose Clinton because I don't believe she will hold herself to her own campaign rhetoric if she took office and was REALLY responsible for the consequences of her actions. The sense that I get from listening to Obama (other than fear for myself, my family and my country) is that he actually believes what he says about Iraq and that he would be irresponsible enough to actually implement an immediate withdrawal of U.S troops, regardless of the consequences.
I am still unable to trust the Democratic party or their candidates with the security of the country and I believe that national security is the number one issue facing our country right now. The economy is going to get better - it always does. Evil, fanatical men are even now plotting the wholesale slaughter of our citizens right here in the homeland and this threat will remain for the rest of my lifetime, at least.
John McCain can defeat either Clinton or Obama in November. I reached this conclusion listening to John McCain's speech on CNN the night he won the South Carolina primary. And I carried that insight in my pocket as I entered the polling booth to vote for McCain in the Florida primary.
The biggest obstacle John McCain faces in reaching the White House comes not from the Democrats but from obstinate conservatives within his own party. Mitt Rommney had the good sense to see that prolonging his campaign was doing nothing but hurting his own party and the very issues for which he had been fighting. Every day that Mr. Huckabee continues in his hopeless endeavor casts doubt on his judgment and his real intentions.
And I still believe that far away in a cave Osama bin Laden is monitoring plots that he has already set in motion, plots that in his characteristic spectacular manner will try to influence the man or woman that we choose for the next President.
My long stated overriding criteria upon which I was going to select a candidate was his ability to beat whoever the Democratic party nominated. With this singular factor holding sway over my decision I was hampered by the inability of any candidate in either party to demonstrate that they were going to get the nomination.
There are a number of reasons that I am opposed to Senators Obama and Clinton. The primary reason for my opposition is their stated policies on the war in Iraq. If I had to choose between the two (and I don't) I would choose Clinton because I don't believe she will hold herself to her own campaign rhetoric if she took office and was REALLY responsible for the consequences of her actions. The sense that I get from listening to Obama (other than fear for myself, my family and my country) is that he actually believes what he says about Iraq and that he would be irresponsible enough to actually implement an immediate withdrawal of U.S troops, regardless of the consequences.
I am still unable to trust the Democratic party or their candidates with the security of the country and I believe that national security is the number one issue facing our country right now. The economy is going to get better - it always does. Evil, fanatical men are even now plotting the wholesale slaughter of our citizens right here in the homeland and this threat will remain for the rest of my lifetime, at least.
John McCain can defeat either Clinton or Obama in November. I reached this conclusion listening to John McCain's speech on CNN the night he won the South Carolina primary. And I carried that insight in my pocket as I entered the polling booth to vote for McCain in the Florida primary.
The biggest obstacle John McCain faces in reaching the White House comes not from the Democrats but from obstinate conservatives within his own party. Mitt Rommney had the good sense to see that prolonging his campaign was doing nothing but hurting his own party and the very issues for which he had been fighting. Every day that Mr. Huckabee continues in his hopeless endeavor casts doubt on his judgment and his real intentions.
And I still believe that far away in a cave Osama bin Laden is monitoring plots that he has already set in motion, plots that in his characteristic spectacular manner will try to influence the man or woman that we choose for the next President.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
On writing a war novel - Part 3
Last January I posted parts 1 & 2 of my thoughts on the subject of writing a war novel. I explained my motivations for writing such a novel in part 1. In part 2 I showed how, after writing 90,000 words in a first draft, I had come to the conclusion that no novelist, no matter how talented, could accurately convey the true sense of the experience as it was actually lived by the participants.
I have not read War and Peace (it's on my Bucket List), perhaps one of the greatest war novels ever written, but I have read numerous other great war novels: Catch 22, All Quiet on the Western Front, A Thin Red Line, A Farewell to Arms, The Red Badge of Courage (to name just a few). Plus, I have read countless non-fiction memoirs and histories about war. I did not fall into the trap of copying or imitating any of these works. Whatever I wrote would have to be unique to me and my experience in Iraq, but would be universally understood and interesting to the readers (hopefully numerous) who undertook the time and effort to read and understand the words that I had written.
I have been thinking about and writing this novel for three and a half years. My efforts during this time were not continuous because I had other obligations to fulfill. This undertaking has taught me some things about writing and about myself and I want to pass some of this knowledge on to you.
At the meeting of the Tallahassee Writers' Association last Thursday night Michael Rychlik, a local author and English teacher, spoke to us about his latest novel. He arises every morning and writes at 5 A.M before he goes to work. Someone asked him about writer's block and he made an interesting (to me) comment. He said that he always had something to write if he had thought about it beforehand. This was very insightful to me because I immediately recognized this as the source of some of my own episodes of writer's block. I had positioned myself before a blank page with a similarly blank mind and been frustrated when no words had come forth.
This weekend I decided to use this insight in my own writing. I am halfway through the second draft of my novel and I desperately needed some insights into how I was going to weave the disparate characters and themes that I had introduced in the first half of my book to a consistent and coherent end in the second half. I decided to sit down and think about how I would resolve this problem.
I tried to assist this process based on my own experience with attempting "deep and profound" thinking. I knew that I did my best thinking on the screened back porch of my house. The abundance of trees, the scampering of squirrels, the sounds and movement of the birds (I often hear a hoot owl couple conversing) has the affect of clearing my head and allowing the onset of a reflective mood. I also knew that the casual care and maintenance of a lit cigar increased the reflectivity of my thinking.
I am blessed and cursed with the personality that requires that once I have decided to do something I am not easily dissuaded. On Friday night, with the knowledge that my wife would be gone until Sunday and that I would be home alone with the dog, I set aside Saturday afternoon in my mind as the time in which I would tackle the great, remaining issues in my novel.
Saturday dawned rainy and cold. In fact, at my appointed time Saturday afternoon the rain was considerable and the temperature on my porch was 45 degrees. Undaunted, I bundled up and headed out (no sacrifice is too great for my craft). When my cigar had expired and the cold had finally driven me inside, I had done a lot of thinking but had not resolved any of the issues confronting me. For the thirtieth or fortieth or maybe fiftieth time since I had started this project I wondered if I was ever going to figure out how write this novel.
Last Friday the Wall Street Journal (the source of all knowledge and wisdom) had an article on the scientific research on sleep. One quote caught my attention: "...the Harvard Medical School tested 56 college students and found that their ability to discern the big picture in disparate pieces of information improved measurably after the brain could, during a night's sleep, mull things over." Folk wisdom and experience ("let me sleep on it") indicated that this was the case but I was comforted that modern science was able to validate it just the same.
The next day, Sunday morning, with little expectation of success, I turned my mind to the issues that had defeated me before and within a period of ten minutes had resolved them all. Two minutes into that ten minute period I raced to my computer to write down all these revelations. Those ten minutes were unbelievably exhilarating and rewarding.
Immediately afterward I wrote this post to document and share the experience with you. The task of converting those revelations into sentences, paragraphs and chapters still awaits me. But I can now see the end of my journey. And better yet, I know that I would get there.
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