katrina
Well-known member
This will start out as a trip report and morph into a
"think piece" (if I am still capable of such) later
during my travels.
I am among a group of six retired military media
analysts, think tankers and authors invited to Baghdad to
view the current situation, operations in western Iraq,
security planning for the all-important 15 October
"referendum," training of Iraqi forces and strategies for
dealing with the increasingly pesky insurgencies in
both Iraq and Afghanistan. We will meet senior military
leaders and Iraqi political officials and most
important, we will have free access to the troops involved in
the missions - from experience I know they will give
us the straight word about what they think.
I have so many questions: how are we doing; are we
making progress; how do we know; what is our strategy; is
it working; what is an acceptable end state to us, to
the Iraqis; how is this playing in other mid-East
countries; are the Syrian and Iraqi connections serious,
or being overplayed; what is the latest make-up of the
insurgency; how do we get the Sunnis to enter the
political process; how do operations in western Iraq -
destroy homes and villages, leave, the bad guys comeback
- make any sense in a war for the hearts and minds of
the Sunnis; is there now a civil war going on by a
different name (insurgency); tell me again how this is
not like a Vietnam-style quagmire.and the questions go
on and on? I can't wait to hear the answer from those
high up and those behind the wheels of the trucks and
Humvees and those pulling the triggers.
For security reasons I cannot identify where we are
going, nor whom we will meet until after meetings are
complete. Today we spent in Kuwait at the "new" Camp
Arifjan, south of Kuwait City. Arifjan which replaces the
old Camp Doha, is a giant logistics base, miles and
miles of desert covered with lines and lines of
containers full of supplies, ammo, air-conditioned tents and
modular buildings full of personnel (some 17,000 in
Kuwait, much reduced from a year ago), lines and lines of
trucks, Humvees, Bradleys, Strykers, tank
transporters, mess halls, a swimming pool, library, phone-calling
center, movie theater, gymnasium, Taco Bell, Subway,
et.al. Arifjan is an inhospitable place, the air full
of choking dust (and today there was no wind or
terrible heat), bumpy roads and razor wire. Few will chose it
as a retirement haven. Traveling the roads of Arifjan,
one cannot be but impressed with the massive costs of
war in money and the oppressive human footprint caused
by all that necessary
to support it, all in someone else's country.
We were briefed by Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb,
Commanding General Coalition Forces Land Component Command
(CFLCC), and his capable staff. Gen. Whitcomb, an
affable spit and polish officer with a dry sense of humor
and quick wit, offered straight forward briefings on
support operations - he moves north everything going to
the coalition in Iraq, the convoys that are attacked,
and trains and houses those going and coming. He lost
four soldiers last week. It weighs heavily upon him.
He is also a diplomat throughout the region, traveling
widely and maintaining relations with military
officials throughout the CENTCOM area to include major
portions of northeast Africa and "the Stans." We had
questions on the recent loss of Uzbekistan and its
implications. His is a fulltime job.
In the current rotation, 77% of Gen. Whitcomb's troops
are from the Guard and Reserve, some on their second
or third tour in the GWOT from Iraq to Afghanistan,
Kosovo and the Balkans. These troops, along with those
from other services and coalition nations, are the ones
who move supplies from port to Arifjan, onto, into and
out of trucks and move them north into "Indian
country." These troops and many contractors are also fixing
damaged vehicles and providing newly modified
"up-armored" vehicles that brave the gauntlet of fire north of
Kuwait throughout Iraq. We have all heard the stories
of recruiting and re-enlistment difficulties being
faced by all services - you wouldn't know it at Arifjan -
morale is high, people look sharp, know their jobs and
seem well motivated. I had long sessions with active
duty, Guard and Reserve troops in group sessions and
one-on-one. They all wanted to go home. Some had a few
days to go, some had just arrived, but all understood
what they were doing in
a dusty, awful place with mostly invisible,
inglorious jobs. Their stories were compelling - a gold-miner;
the owner of a welding shop, a policeman; a
landscaper; a high school dropout - all proud of what they were
doing - one showed me a drastically wounded Humvee,
full of holes hit by an IED - he was on the mission - he
is now involved in "up-armoring" and making safer
Humvees for his buddies who follow - he has 12 days left.
One cannot help but be impressed by our young
soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen - they
are AWESOME - they never let us down - I hope we don't
let them down with flawed strategies, flawed visions
or bad leadership - I'll let you know what I think
about that when I see more - for now - NORTH TO BAGHDAD!
Oh yes - one difference between this war and Vietnam -
when we got to our Kuwait hotel we were given body
armor and Kevlar helmets to be worn in Iraq. When I got
off the airplane in Saigon, 38 years ago, no one gave
me body armor - it wasn't necessary - hmmm.
*****************************Day Two
More Iraq Travel Log
As I said, this will, early on, be more of a travel
log - a thinkpiece will come out after I have a chance
to see more, talk to more troops at all levels and
digest what I have seen, but first - I knew my wife was
wrong. I am glad I came on this trip, even if she isn't
- what a fascinating opportunity to experience history
in the making.
Today was a fast ride in the new Lockheed Martin
C-130J-30, a Rhode Island Air National Guard plane flown by
Baltimore ANG pilots with a California backend crew.
On board, a furloughed airline pilot, a foxy female co
who is a civilian flight instructor, an FBI agent, an
active duty troop, a dozen sleeping grunts, a
generator and the beat goes on. An hour and a half after
takeoff from Kuwait we were making a fast descent into
Baghdad IAP, then hopping on an Army Blackhawk helo and
donning our body armor and Kevlar helmets for the ride
into Baghdad With my helmet askance, I'm sure I look
like a dork playing war to the real pros who tote the
guns in their desert cammies.
I have always known that the only purpose of Army
aviation is to scare the hell out of Air Force pilots. You
have not been low until you go by Army air and
although "fast" is relative in a helo, when palm trees are
swaying and goats flash by at eye level, one knows he is
for sure, low and fast.
As the pilot pulls up on the collective to slow for
landing, the old Republican Guard area of Baghdad above
the loop in the Tigris River - the one we covered from
the CNN floor during the war comes into full view.
Yep, there are the places that Miles O'Brien and Kyra
Phillips and I "tele-strated" during the night of "shock
and awe" - familiar territory, the buildings still
showing the roof entry points of smart bombs, the
workings of which we carefully explained to the worldwide
audience. I was proud of our coverage then, still am.
For security reasons I am going to leave out the
location of our meetings, but let's just say we entered one
of Saddam's palaces for a full day of classified
briefings given by smart, thoughtful, knowledgeable general
officers who are also tough as nails. If your kid has
to go to war, you would be pleased to have them led by
men such as these. We spent several hours examining
strategy, rationale, predicted effects, future plans,
what-if options, the economy, Iraqi infrastructure,
election predictions, operations in western Iraq, the
"new" vehicle borne IEDs, American public attitudes, the
nature of the insurgency - Butch Cassiday and the
Sundance Kid - "who are those guys?" These were the
newly-formed "Strategic Effects" division and they are
impressive.
We lunched with embassy personnel, diplomats (it's
easy to forget there are many heroes who don't wear
uniforms) and discussed the economy, inflation, the
referendum, U.S. and Iraqi politics, mid-East attitudes,
Persian history, the Pashtuns in Afghanistan, then back
into more classified briefings.
We took a restroom break - through the marbeled halls,
under the hanging chandeliers, past the expensive
pottery and paintings, into the john with the gold-rimmed
sinks and commodes. I'm surprised Saddam didn't use
rolls of $100 bills for toilet paper - how could any
ruler live in such ostentacious surroundings while his
people starved? Such palaces are replete throughout
Iraq.
The mid-afternoon session was planned for 45 minutes
with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad - we ended up
spending 1:30. America finally has the right ambassador
at the right time in the right place. Born in
Afghanistan, fluent in Arabic, handsome like Clark Gable and
with a sense of humor and panache - the perfect storm
for Iraq. This man has a clue. What he has done to
quietly encourage, influence and facilitate Sunni
cooperation and inclusion in the political process, will
someday be legend in the annals of diplomacy. The Sunnis
finally feel they have a friend in Iraq while the Shia
feel they have a wise and fair-minded American with his
head on straight with whom they can deal. The
ambassador has a foot in both worlds, maybe many. If this
referendum and election come out OK, all Iraqis should
replace Saddam's statue with one of Khalilzad.
We ended the day with more briefings and discussions,
then a night-vision goggle helo ride over the
brightly-burning lights of Baghdad (despite their electrical
"shortages") back to our quarters for the evening -
another old palace with all its orgasmic opulence,
gold-rimmed toilets and bidets.
After freshening up, we are off to the quarters of
General George Casey, Commander of Multi-National Forces
Iraq for dinner. You saw him last week testifying on
the Hill about conditions in Iraq. Every soldier's
nightmare is to testify on Capitol Hill about a
highly-charged political issue - it is easier to be shot at and
a helluva lot more fun. Around a large table we
gathered with he and his staff for robust and raucous
discussions about past and present wars, history, good books
we are reading and friends and enemies long and
recently gone. We shared facts, views and opinions. We
laughed, at ourselves, not others. We all agreed - Iraq is
one tough place, perhaps the most difficult
political-military dilemma ever faced by this country.
One thought upon which I will expand after the trip in
a thinkpiece - I am disturbed by the dichotomy I see
between the high level of optimism displayed by the
troops and commanders in Iraq and what I deem to be
increasing skepticism at home. The troops are proud of what
they are doing and understand the mission and its
importance. From top to bottom they see Iraq as a terribly
difficult place but utterly doable "IF" we stay the
course. They see victory as us departing with an Iraqi
government that can survive, be at peace with its
neighbors, be an ally in the GWOT, maintain internal order
with rights for all citizens and not be a haven for
terrorists. They see signs of this happening and great
hope for the future. According to recent polls, so do
the Iraqis.
Americans remain skeptical. Much is riding on this
referendum and election and all know it, the terrorists
and insurgents included. I must admit that I share some
skepticism due to personal history. I was a 27
year-old fighter pilot in Vietnam during Tet, flying missions
over North Vietnam, going down the chute, getting my
ass shot off, while a four-star general was talking
about Tet as a "great American victory," saying there was
"light at the end of the tunnel" and asking for more
time and more troops. Then, President Johnson declared
a bombing halt above the 17th parallel and made my
life even worse. To top it off, Congress cut-off funds
and abandoned an ally after many promises As I watched
the last helicopter depart the roof of the U.S. embassy
in Saigon in 1975, my eyes misted, a lump came in to
my throat and I realized it had all been in vain. Every
time I visit the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. the same
lump comes back.
This war does not have to be in vain - but it can come
out in many different ways - the troops have the guts
and will to pull this off. I wonder if the American
people do? - I have much to sort out. It is late and I
must go to bed before a long exciting and
adventure-filled day tomorrow. My body armor and helmet are near my
bed - deja vu - I have been here before - Don Shepperd
***********************Day Three
A day a journalist would kill for - or in Iraq, maybe
be killed for:
A great breakfast at our palace quarters cooked by the
Houston Army National Guard, standing in for their
buddies from New Orleans who are home to tend their
families - scrambled eggs with salsa, breakfast burritos
and French toast, fresh fruit - no wonder my body armor
doesn't fit - I need a "tall, fat."
The Al Faw palace is impressive, but Major General
"Fuzzy" Webster (sobriquet from his days as a West Point
footballer) is even more impressive. He is Commander,
3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Operation Iraqi
Freedom - the man who "owns" Baghdad and all its
environs. We spend about two hours discussing "bad guy
country" and visiting his modern-day command post filled with
walls of computer screens displaying real-time data
and views from blimps and UAVs. Baghdad is the "center
of gravity" for the insurgency, where they do their
dirtiest of work, IEDs and VIEDS aimed at coalition
military vehicles and auto or vest-equipped suicide bombers
toting death and destruction for crowds of their
innocent Islamic brothers lined up for jobs. So much for
brotherly love and Muslim chivalry. Can Allah really be
pleased?
So, Fuzzy, Baghdad is a mess right? Full of car bombs,
murders, kidnaps... "Well, not only no, but HELL NO!
Where do you guys come up with this stuff? You must be
from the media. In fact we are making great progress,
and here are some facts:"
"20% of Baghdad battle space has been turned over to
Iraqi security forces and they are GOOD, in fact better
than us, because they know the territory and speak the
language. Their leadership is excellent and I would be
proud to fight with those units anywhere. In fact we
gave them one of the toughest areas - Haifa Street
neighborhood - one of our most dangerous places - they
cleaned it up when we couldn't. It is now considered
"safe," at least Baghdad safe."
"Crime in downtown Baghdad is still a major concern,
bad crime. The quicker we can get properly trained
Iraqi forces to take over battlespace, the quicker Baghdad
will get cleaned up. Iraqi forces are the answer, not
U.S forces, and we are working hard to get them ready.
But, be sure, we will not turn over territory and
responsibility until they are ready."
"Some regular airline travel has resumed at Baghdad
airport."
"Further, we get very few IDF (indirect fire -
mortars, rockets) rounds in the Green Zone anymore or at
Baghdad IAP. Also 'Route Irish,' the reputed 'most
dangerous road in the world' that runs from Baghdad Airport
into town and the Green Zone, has been cleared - no
more IEDs, an occasional sniper, but nothing of major
concern - haven't had a major incident in a long time -
in fact we are going to drive you into town on Route
Irish today to show you."
(No ****, Fuzzy? Boy, we can hardly wait).
A couple of hours later we mount up for our "safe"
ride along Route Irish - a pre-mission brief, full body
armor (well almost full - mine does not have crotch or
arm protection - I suspect they don't issue crotch
protection for males on Medicare), and we are told if we
get hit, stay in the vehicle and they will "extract"
us when it is "safe." We launch with about 15
up-armored Humvees, spaced in disciplined combat formation,
gunners protruding out the top - hell, if I was an
insurgent I wouldn't attack this convoy with a nuke. Shows
of force work. We see that Irish has indeed been
cleaned up - it would be hard to hide an IED along this
route, now well-patrolled by Iraqi forces. As we pass
Iraqi civilian vehicles, they pull dutifully to the side.
Traffic joining from on-coming ramps is carefully
watched, the convoy even slowing to ensure clearance.
Everyone is wary and alert. We pass the on-ramp where the
Italian journalist was killed - her car ran a
checkpoint and failed to heed
warning shots, we are told.
Arriving in the Green Zone we navigate the maze of
repeated checkpoints - this area would be really hard to
breach. We pull up to the headquarters of the 4th
Brigade Combat Team - these guys are in charge of the REAL
"Indian Country" - big, bad downtown Baghdad, Sadr
City, Shia and Sunni neighborhoods, the high crime areas
- this is as ugly as duty gets - or is it? The
briefers describe much progress, many problems, major
advances in Iraqi force training and unbridled optimism about
the future of Iraq, the future for Iraqi forces and
the future of Baghdad. The troops with whom we lunch
echo this - these are the trigger pullers - interestingly
enough, there is little talk of combat or shooting.
They relate that there is always danger, little
shooting, no combat, occasional IEDs, major concern about the
varied militias of all types - these people are more
about civic action - company commanders who have to
become diplomats, negotiators, town mayors, city
managers, police chiefs, judges
rather than grenade throwers. They display toughness,
but compassion. They genuinely like the Iraqis, talk
fondly of them, admire their courage and toughness - in
fact their concern is not about Iraqi security forces,
or Shia-Sunni sectarian violence or civil war, but
about the competence of an elected government that has
had no experience in democracy and is called upon to
form a country and write a Constitution in the middle of
a war against an insurgency, and change a culture of
tribal violence and corruption that has been part of
middle-Eastern life for centuries - a tall order in the
best of times and these are not the best of times.
These guys and gals want to go home - and the Iraqis
want them to go home, but not just yet - they won't
predict a date, but feel it will be sooner, rather than
later - there will be no long term occupation of Iraq,
they assure us and it won't take a decade.
Two of our enlisted lunch companions were wounded in
IEDs incidents - patched-up and rehabbed in-country
they are back on light duty describing how their
up-armored Humvees, body armor, no-mex clothing and blast
glasses saved them - wear your gear properly, they advise
- and they repeat they are proud of what they are
doing and eager to resume full duty status.
Not surprisingly, our visit with Prime Minister
al-Jaafari is cancelled. Five days before the election, he
is a busy guy. We drive to another palace to meet the
Minister of the Interior, the Iraqi equivalent of our
head of the Department of Justice, the Attorney
General. It is clear Minister Bayan Jaber's mind is
elsewhere. Accompanied by his official in charge of election
security, Major General Aidan, he carefully describes
the precautions to be taken for the 6500+/- polling
places for the up-coming referendum. Yes, he expects
attempts at major violence. Yes, the Iraqis will handle it
with U.S. backup. Yes, he is confident the Sunnis will
join the voting, but he doesn't know how they will
vote. Through an interpreter he shows us pictures of two
car bombers intercepted and killed five minutes ago.
Our next stop is with Minister of Defense, Dr. Saood
Dulaimy, the Iraqi Donald Rumsfeld - a tall, bearded,
thoughtful, soft-spoken psychologist, an obvious
intellect, he headed a research institute, a think tank,
under the Saddam regime - it must have been an
interesting time. He is a Sunni in a Shia-dominated government.
He describes the insurgency, the problem with Sunni
involvement in the referendum, and leaves no doubt he
will give no quarter to foreign or domestic terrorists
who target innocent civilians, or base their ideology
on hate rather than politics. His eyes are steeled as
he predicts Zarqawi will make a mistake and he will be
captured and hanged in Iraq by Iraqis. He is
optimistic that the Sunnis will join the political process and
Iraq will find its own democratic future, but it will
be a tough row to hoe and won't look like America. He
genuinely thanks us for American help and says we need
you to stay "for now."
The military advisor to the Prime Minister calls,
apologizes for the Prime Minister's absence, and asks to
meet with us. We change our schedule and Major General
Talib al Alkinani describes being a general in the
military under Saddam - he was one, but has obviously
passed the vetting that allows only levels 5-6 Baathists
join the new administration. Levels 1-4 are prohibited
and that causes some level of discontent and
eliminates some very capable personnel from a future with the
new military - oh, well. He feels Syria is a major
factor in the insurgency and is confident about a new
Iraqi military - he is well-spoken, thoughtful and warm.
We helo out and our last session is with Lt. Gen. John
Vines, Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps and
CG, Multi-National Corps, Iraqi Freedom. A Ranger,
Special Forces soldier and paratrooper, he is tall, tough
as nails, and veteran of Afghanistan, both Gulf wars,
Panama and Desert One - how much combat can one stand?
He is in charge of all combat operations in Iraq, U.S
and coalition. We have a long talk - strategy,
politics, worries - he has many, but re-iterates that this
country can do it, and probably, hopefully, faster than
we think. We have just met a soldiers' soldier.
On our last stop after a long day we visit Gen. Vines'
star-wars command center and night-vision-goggle helo
back to the Green Zone for a night time dinner with
Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey and staff - an outside barbeque
- they train the Iraqi forces and also help the new
government ministries. O'Douls is the closest we come to
alcohol in Iraq as we down steaks and chicken before
one last night helo back to our palace and a restful
night.
I am too tired to begin assessing all I have seen.
Besides, we have one more action-filled day tomorrow that
I cannot yet describe for security reasons - but one
thing for certain - there is great disparity between
what is reported in the press and what I have seen and
heard from the troops - some of that is natural. Iraq
is not a safe place. Iraq has problems that would
befuddle most American politicians, but the Americans with
whom we spoke and the Iraqis with whom we met are VERY
optimistic. They feel they are making great progress.
They are confident the Sunnis will vote. They don't
know if the Sunnis will vote for, or against, the
Constitution, but they feel the Sunnis know they made a
mistake last time and know they need to find a way to join
the process now or later - either way it is win for a
fledgling democracy. It will be a rocky road forward -
they know it and many of them will die in the process
if the insurgents have their way - we wished them well
- they thanked us
with firm handshakes and hands over their hearts -
the Iraqi way.
As I write this log, there were two loud explosions
outside - someone said it sounded like it came from the
Green Zone - I'll check the morning reports - after
all, this is Iraq - Don Shepperd
********************************Day Four
It was near a perfect end to a trip - Air Force was
going to beat Navy and I was going to get to watch it
from Baghdad; University of Arizona was going to beat
USC and I was going to get an early morning, nap of the
earth, helo flight to Taji to view Iraqi forces
training.
We got back late from the Green Zone, another
night-vision-goggle mission and I saw Navy beat Air Force in
the last minute. The fact that my son graduated from
Annapolis doesn't enter the equation, he barely mentions
Navy victories.
Then, AZ scared USC through 50 minutes, but forgot the
last 10 - have you ever heard of a team gaining 724
yards? - it sounded like a track meet.
The two nighttime booms were harassment mortars -
almost ignored by the troops - probably coming from the
nearby town.
The early morning Blackhawk helo flight took us over
open fields, low over villages, past palm groves, over
the Tigris River and into the Taji, largest Iraqi
military base. It was the home of Saddam's Hammurabi
mechanized infantry division during the war and heavily
attacked by U.S. airpower. The Iraqis are now rebuilding
the facilities with our help - be careful what you
bomb in war, you might have to paint it later.
Taji is now home for the HQ, 9th Iraqi Division under
the command of Maj. Gen. Bashr, also a general under
Saddam. He rose through the ranks as a company,
battalion and brigade commander of a tank division in the
Iran-Iraq war. Later he was imprisoned by Saddam, given
an eight-year sentence for refusing to put Saddam's
picture in his office, but served only four, for which he
was supposed to be grateful. Taji is a large training
center for Iraqi forces and also home of the 1st
Brigade (mechanized) - two mechanized infantry battalions,
one armor.
The brigade is commanded by Brigadier General "X" (for
his security). His hands are bandaged (burned)and both
he and Gen. Bashr were wounded last week by an IED
during fighting against insurgents north of Taji. "X" was
a POW during the Iran-Iraq war and escaped, though
badly wounded. You can see the fire in his eyes when he
talks about terrorists. These men are true Iraqi
nationalists and their brigade, the first Iraqi brigade to
stand-up, is purposely composed of Sunnis, Shias and
Kurds.
The Brigade S-3 (Ops), Col. "Y" (personal security),
briefs us on the status of training, current operations
against terrorists and recent successes against
insurgents including numbers killed, IEDs disabled, caches
found and HVIs detained - it has been a good month.
They show plans for maintaining their "battlespace" north
of Baghdad. It is a good plan. A long Q&A follows.
Bashr speaks good English and with passion and emotion as
he tells stories of standing up the division including
his experience under Saddam as he was ordered to "rid
his unit of Kurds" - his best tankers.
We are shown equipment, Russian T-72s and BMPs (Bashr
likes them - he would love the Abrams) for which they
have scrounged parts. They proudly take each of us for
a spin in the BMPs - it is a hot, dusty ride. I got
the longest ride, by far - they thought my driver and I
were headed for Iran.
The Iraqi troops look good, seem proud and
well-motivated. They have already been given responsibility for a
sector north of Baghdad, really bad guy country. They
are pacifying it better than could we. They know the
terrain, the actors, the accents. These guys are in
heavy combat regularly - their forte is intelligence.
They can spot a jihadist miles away by clothing,
mannerisms, speech patterns, appearance.
We lunch with Colonel Abbas, the base commander. He is
decidedly pro-American. Insurgents made attempts to
kill him. They didn't, but they did kill his young
daughter He speaks excellent English and gives a short talk
thanking us and asking us to pass his personal thanks
to Americans for ousting Saddam. When Katrina hit
Louisiana, Abbas asked his men to contribute. He
personally contributed half a month's salary and they sent it
to hurricane relief.
Abbas gets a sack of money, $10M, on the 26th of every
month to pay his troops (no central bank in Iraq). He
returns $3-400,000 for those missing duty. This is an
honest, dedicated man who has been personally touched
by terror. Saddam also killed his uncle and cousin and
imprisoned his father. His father just died from the
results of imprisonment Abbas is the future of Iraq -
men like he, Bashr, Kassam and Mohammed will clear out
the terrorists, quicker and better than we -
Inshallah.
As we depart, Abbas grabs my shoulder, puts his hand
over his heart and says - "Goodbye. Thank you for
coming. Tell Americans, thank you." I promised I will.
On the bus back to the helos, the American trainers
and liaisons officers stationed with the 9th tell their
stories - these guys are tigers - they are in combat
weekly - they are good leaders, good men, good Iraqi
nationalists - lets hope Iraq is full of them - 75% of
their troops are former military. Some are also
probably insurgent spies.
As we helo back at low level to Baghdad International
Airport (BIAP) to catch our C-130 back to Kuwait, I
have much to mull. I must let this settle-in before I
write a thinkpiece. Obviously, we have drunk the
Kool-aid - hearing what the U.S forces wanted us to hear,
seeing what they wanted us to see. BUT - it's hard to
fool old military men - our group had access to anyone we
wished, to ask anything we wanted. We did - we know
what to look for and how to ask hard questions to draw
out honest opinions from grunts. We know how to judge
troops and how to look into their eyes for blank
stares. We know how to look at equipment and how to assess
weapons discipline and safety. We know how to read
through charts to sort valid data from bullshit. The six
of us have over 180+ years in the military. We have
several wars between us. We have shot at and hit. We know
how to tell good soldiers from bad. We come back
encouraged, impressed - cautiously optimistic is the block
I would check on a
survey, very cautiously. Right now my worry isn't on
the U.S military side, nor that of the Iraqi security
forces, but on the civilian governments and public in
both countries. Much rides on the referendum this
coming weekend. Much rides on the government to be elected
in December, their first under the new constitution
Much rides on the U.S. public and whether we will stay
the course.
As we depart Taji, I ask Gen. Bashr if it would make
things better if the U.S. left sooner rather than later
- "NO!" he says, "We need you for 4-5 years. We will
defeat this insurgency sooner than you think, but you
cannot leave. You must not leave. We will fight and die
for Iraq, but we need you now." - I believe him.
We C-130 back to Kuwait City, looking down along the
coast. I remember Iraqi tanks, helicopters and troops
invading from the north - watching on Pentagon command
post TV monitors on 3 August 1990. It was an ugly
sight.
We go into the "tent" restaurant at our hotel for a
Ramadan "Iftar" dinner - a traditional dinner to salve
the daily fasting at sundown. It is a splendid buffet
of middle-East delicacies. We talk late for an early
get-up. I can't sleep. I have much to think about.
Perhaps I will stay up for the "Sohoul" buffet at 10:30.
I remember the President in his post-9-11 speech; "We
will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail."
- I wonder - much to think about, indeed - thinkpiece
later - Don Shepperd
"think piece" (if I am still capable of such) later
during my travels.
I am among a group of six retired military media
analysts, think tankers and authors invited to Baghdad to
view the current situation, operations in western Iraq,
security planning for the all-important 15 October
"referendum," training of Iraqi forces and strategies for
dealing with the increasingly pesky insurgencies in
both Iraq and Afghanistan. We will meet senior military
leaders and Iraqi political officials and most
important, we will have free access to the troops involved in
the missions - from experience I know they will give
us the straight word about what they think.
I have so many questions: how are we doing; are we
making progress; how do we know; what is our strategy; is
it working; what is an acceptable end state to us, to
the Iraqis; how is this playing in other mid-East
countries; are the Syrian and Iraqi connections serious,
or being overplayed; what is the latest make-up of the
insurgency; how do we get the Sunnis to enter the
political process; how do operations in western Iraq -
destroy homes and villages, leave, the bad guys comeback
- make any sense in a war for the hearts and minds of
the Sunnis; is there now a civil war going on by a
different name (insurgency); tell me again how this is
not like a Vietnam-style quagmire.and the questions go
on and on? I can't wait to hear the answer from those
high up and those behind the wheels of the trucks and
Humvees and those pulling the triggers.
For security reasons I cannot identify where we are
going, nor whom we will meet until after meetings are
complete. Today we spent in Kuwait at the "new" Camp
Arifjan, south of Kuwait City. Arifjan which replaces the
old Camp Doha, is a giant logistics base, miles and
miles of desert covered with lines and lines of
containers full of supplies, ammo, air-conditioned tents and
modular buildings full of personnel (some 17,000 in
Kuwait, much reduced from a year ago), lines and lines of
trucks, Humvees, Bradleys, Strykers, tank
transporters, mess halls, a swimming pool, library, phone-calling
center, movie theater, gymnasium, Taco Bell, Subway,
et.al. Arifjan is an inhospitable place, the air full
of choking dust (and today there was no wind or
terrible heat), bumpy roads and razor wire. Few will chose it
as a retirement haven. Traveling the roads of Arifjan,
one cannot be but impressed with the massive costs of
war in money and the oppressive human footprint caused
by all that necessary
to support it, all in someone else's country.
We were briefed by Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb,
Commanding General Coalition Forces Land Component Command
(CFLCC), and his capable staff. Gen. Whitcomb, an
affable spit and polish officer with a dry sense of humor
and quick wit, offered straight forward briefings on
support operations - he moves north everything going to
the coalition in Iraq, the convoys that are attacked,
and trains and houses those going and coming. He lost
four soldiers last week. It weighs heavily upon him.
He is also a diplomat throughout the region, traveling
widely and maintaining relations with military
officials throughout the CENTCOM area to include major
portions of northeast Africa and "the Stans." We had
questions on the recent loss of Uzbekistan and its
implications. His is a fulltime job.
In the current rotation, 77% of Gen. Whitcomb's troops
are from the Guard and Reserve, some on their second
or third tour in the GWOT from Iraq to Afghanistan,
Kosovo and the Balkans. These troops, along with those
from other services and coalition nations, are the ones
who move supplies from port to Arifjan, onto, into and
out of trucks and move them north into "Indian
country." These troops and many contractors are also fixing
damaged vehicles and providing newly modified
"up-armored" vehicles that brave the gauntlet of fire north of
Kuwait throughout Iraq. We have all heard the stories
of recruiting and re-enlistment difficulties being
faced by all services - you wouldn't know it at Arifjan -
morale is high, people look sharp, know their jobs and
seem well motivated. I had long sessions with active
duty, Guard and Reserve troops in group sessions and
one-on-one. They all wanted to go home. Some had a few
days to go, some had just arrived, but all understood
what they were doing in
a dusty, awful place with mostly invisible,
inglorious jobs. Their stories were compelling - a gold-miner;
the owner of a welding shop, a policeman; a
landscaper; a high school dropout - all proud of what they were
doing - one showed me a drastically wounded Humvee,
full of holes hit by an IED - he was on the mission - he
is now involved in "up-armoring" and making safer
Humvees for his buddies who follow - he has 12 days left.
One cannot help but be impressed by our young
soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen - they
are AWESOME - they never let us down - I hope we don't
let them down with flawed strategies, flawed visions
or bad leadership - I'll let you know what I think
about that when I see more - for now - NORTH TO BAGHDAD!
Oh yes - one difference between this war and Vietnam -
when we got to our Kuwait hotel we were given body
armor and Kevlar helmets to be worn in Iraq. When I got
off the airplane in Saigon, 38 years ago, no one gave
me body armor - it wasn't necessary - hmmm.
*****************************Day Two
More Iraq Travel Log
As I said, this will, early on, be more of a travel
log - a thinkpiece will come out after I have a chance
to see more, talk to more troops at all levels and
digest what I have seen, but first - I knew my wife was
wrong. I am glad I came on this trip, even if she isn't
- what a fascinating opportunity to experience history
in the making.
Today was a fast ride in the new Lockheed Martin
C-130J-30, a Rhode Island Air National Guard plane flown by
Baltimore ANG pilots with a California backend crew.
On board, a furloughed airline pilot, a foxy female co
who is a civilian flight instructor, an FBI agent, an
active duty troop, a dozen sleeping grunts, a
generator and the beat goes on. An hour and a half after
takeoff from Kuwait we were making a fast descent into
Baghdad IAP, then hopping on an Army Blackhawk helo and
donning our body armor and Kevlar helmets for the ride
into Baghdad With my helmet askance, I'm sure I look
like a dork playing war to the real pros who tote the
guns in their desert cammies.
I have always known that the only purpose of Army
aviation is to scare the hell out of Air Force pilots. You
have not been low until you go by Army air and
although "fast" is relative in a helo, when palm trees are
swaying and goats flash by at eye level, one knows he is
for sure, low and fast.
As the pilot pulls up on the collective to slow for
landing, the old Republican Guard area of Baghdad above
the loop in the Tigris River - the one we covered from
the CNN floor during the war comes into full view.
Yep, there are the places that Miles O'Brien and Kyra
Phillips and I "tele-strated" during the night of "shock
and awe" - familiar territory, the buildings still
showing the roof entry points of smart bombs, the
workings of which we carefully explained to the worldwide
audience. I was proud of our coverage then, still am.
For security reasons I am going to leave out the
location of our meetings, but let's just say we entered one
of Saddam's palaces for a full day of classified
briefings given by smart, thoughtful, knowledgeable general
officers who are also tough as nails. If your kid has
to go to war, you would be pleased to have them led by
men such as these. We spent several hours examining
strategy, rationale, predicted effects, future plans,
what-if options, the economy, Iraqi infrastructure,
election predictions, operations in western Iraq, the
"new" vehicle borne IEDs, American public attitudes, the
nature of the insurgency - Butch Cassiday and the
Sundance Kid - "who are those guys?" These were the
newly-formed "Strategic Effects" division and they are
impressive.
We lunched with embassy personnel, diplomats (it's
easy to forget there are many heroes who don't wear
uniforms) and discussed the economy, inflation, the
referendum, U.S. and Iraqi politics, mid-East attitudes,
Persian history, the Pashtuns in Afghanistan, then back
into more classified briefings.
We took a restroom break - through the marbeled halls,
under the hanging chandeliers, past the expensive
pottery and paintings, into the john with the gold-rimmed
sinks and commodes. I'm surprised Saddam didn't use
rolls of $100 bills for toilet paper - how could any
ruler live in such ostentacious surroundings while his
people starved? Such palaces are replete throughout
Iraq.
The mid-afternoon session was planned for 45 minutes
with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad - we ended up
spending 1:30. America finally has the right ambassador
at the right time in the right place. Born in
Afghanistan, fluent in Arabic, handsome like Clark Gable and
with a sense of humor and panache - the perfect storm
for Iraq. This man has a clue. What he has done to
quietly encourage, influence and facilitate Sunni
cooperation and inclusion in the political process, will
someday be legend in the annals of diplomacy. The Sunnis
finally feel they have a friend in Iraq while the Shia
feel they have a wise and fair-minded American with his
head on straight with whom they can deal. The
ambassador has a foot in both worlds, maybe many. If this
referendum and election come out OK, all Iraqis should
replace Saddam's statue with one of Khalilzad.
We ended the day with more briefings and discussions,
then a night-vision goggle helo ride over the
brightly-burning lights of Baghdad (despite their electrical
"shortages") back to our quarters for the evening -
another old palace with all its orgasmic opulence,
gold-rimmed toilets and bidets.
After freshening up, we are off to the quarters of
General George Casey, Commander of Multi-National Forces
Iraq for dinner. You saw him last week testifying on
the Hill about conditions in Iraq. Every soldier's
nightmare is to testify on Capitol Hill about a
highly-charged political issue - it is easier to be shot at and
a helluva lot more fun. Around a large table we
gathered with he and his staff for robust and raucous
discussions about past and present wars, history, good books
we are reading and friends and enemies long and
recently gone. We shared facts, views and opinions. We
laughed, at ourselves, not others. We all agreed - Iraq is
one tough place, perhaps the most difficult
political-military dilemma ever faced by this country.
One thought upon which I will expand after the trip in
a thinkpiece - I am disturbed by the dichotomy I see
between the high level of optimism displayed by the
troops and commanders in Iraq and what I deem to be
increasing skepticism at home. The troops are proud of what
they are doing and understand the mission and its
importance. From top to bottom they see Iraq as a terribly
difficult place but utterly doable "IF" we stay the
course. They see victory as us departing with an Iraqi
government that can survive, be at peace with its
neighbors, be an ally in the GWOT, maintain internal order
with rights for all citizens and not be a haven for
terrorists. They see signs of this happening and great
hope for the future. According to recent polls, so do
the Iraqis.
Americans remain skeptical. Much is riding on this
referendum and election and all know it, the terrorists
and insurgents included. I must admit that I share some
skepticism due to personal history. I was a 27
year-old fighter pilot in Vietnam during Tet, flying missions
over North Vietnam, going down the chute, getting my
ass shot off, while a four-star general was talking
about Tet as a "great American victory," saying there was
"light at the end of the tunnel" and asking for more
time and more troops. Then, President Johnson declared
a bombing halt above the 17th parallel and made my
life even worse. To top it off, Congress cut-off funds
and abandoned an ally after many promises As I watched
the last helicopter depart the roof of the U.S. embassy
in Saigon in 1975, my eyes misted, a lump came in to
my throat and I realized it had all been in vain. Every
time I visit the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. the same
lump comes back.
This war does not have to be in vain - but it can come
out in many different ways - the troops have the guts
and will to pull this off. I wonder if the American
people do? - I have much to sort out. It is late and I
must go to bed before a long exciting and
adventure-filled day tomorrow. My body armor and helmet are near my
bed - deja vu - I have been here before - Don Shepperd
***********************Day Three
A day a journalist would kill for - or in Iraq, maybe
be killed for:
A great breakfast at our palace quarters cooked by the
Houston Army National Guard, standing in for their
buddies from New Orleans who are home to tend their
families - scrambled eggs with salsa, breakfast burritos
and French toast, fresh fruit - no wonder my body armor
doesn't fit - I need a "tall, fat."
The Al Faw palace is impressive, but Major General
"Fuzzy" Webster (sobriquet from his days as a West Point
footballer) is even more impressive. He is Commander,
3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Operation Iraqi
Freedom - the man who "owns" Baghdad and all its
environs. We spend about two hours discussing "bad guy
country" and visiting his modern-day command post filled with
walls of computer screens displaying real-time data
and views from blimps and UAVs. Baghdad is the "center
of gravity" for the insurgency, where they do their
dirtiest of work, IEDs and VIEDS aimed at coalition
military vehicles and auto or vest-equipped suicide bombers
toting death and destruction for crowds of their
innocent Islamic brothers lined up for jobs. So much for
brotherly love and Muslim chivalry. Can Allah really be
pleased?
So, Fuzzy, Baghdad is a mess right? Full of car bombs,
murders, kidnaps... "Well, not only no, but HELL NO!
Where do you guys come up with this stuff? You must be
from the media. In fact we are making great progress,
and here are some facts:"
"20% of Baghdad battle space has been turned over to
Iraqi security forces and they are GOOD, in fact better
than us, because they know the territory and speak the
language. Their leadership is excellent and I would be
proud to fight with those units anywhere. In fact we
gave them one of the toughest areas - Haifa Street
neighborhood - one of our most dangerous places - they
cleaned it up when we couldn't. It is now considered
"safe," at least Baghdad safe."
"Crime in downtown Baghdad is still a major concern,
bad crime. The quicker we can get properly trained
Iraqi forces to take over battlespace, the quicker Baghdad
will get cleaned up. Iraqi forces are the answer, not
U.S forces, and we are working hard to get them ready.
But, be sure, we will not turn over territory and
responsibility until they are ready."
"Some regular airline travel has resumed at Baghdad
airport."
"Further, we get very few IDF (indirect fire -
mortars, rockets) rounds in the Green Zone anymore or at
Baghdad IAP. Also 'Route Irish,' the reputed 'most
dangerous road in the world' that runs from Baghdad Airport
into town and the Green Zone, has been cleared - no
more IEDs, an occasional sniper, but nothing of major
concern - haven't had a major incident in a long time -
in fact we are going to drive you into town on Route
Irish today to show you."
(No ****, Fuzzy? Boy, we can hardly wait).
A couple of hours later we mount up for our "safe"
ride along Route Irish - a pre-mission brief, full body
armor (well almost full - mine does not have crotch or
arm protection - I suspect they don't issue crotch
protection for males on Medicare), and we are told if we
get hit, stay in the vehicle and they will "extract"
us when it is "safe." We launch with about 15
up-armored Humvees, spaced in disciplined combat formation,
gunners protruding out the top - hell, if I was an
insurgent I wouldn't attack this convoy with a nuke. Shows
of force work. We see that Irish has indeed been
cleaned up - it would be hard to hide an IED along this
route, now well-patrolled by Iraqi forces. As we pass
Iraqi civilian vehicles, they pull dutifully to the side.
Traffic joining from on-coming ramps is carefully
watched, the convoy even slowing to ensure clearance.
Everyone is wary and alert. We pass the on-ramp where the
Italian journalist was killed - her car ran a
checkpoint and failed to heed
warning shots, we are told.
Arriving in the Green Zone we navigate the maze of
repeated checkpoints - this area would be really hard to
breach. We pull up to the headquarters of the 4th
Brigade Combat Team - these guys are in charge of the REAL
"Indian Country" - big, bad downtown Baghdad, Sadr
City, Shia and Sunni neighborhoods, the high crime areas
- this is as ugly as duty gets - or is it? The
briefers describe much progress, many problems, major
advances in Iraqi force training and unbridled optimism about
the future of Iraq, the future for Iraqi forces and
the future of Baghdad. The troops with whom we lunch
echo this - these are the trigger pullers - interestingly
enough, there is little talk of combat or shooting.
They relate that there is always danger, little
shooting, no combat, occasional IEDs, major concern about the
varied militias of all types - these people are more
about civic action - company commanders who have to
become diplomats, negotiators, town mayors, city
managers, police chiefs, judges
rather than grenade throwers. They display toughness,
but compassion. They genuinely like the Iraqis, talk
fondly of them, admire their courage and toughness - in
fact their concern is not about Iraqi security forces,
or Shia-Sunni sectarian violence or civil war, but
about the competence of an elected government that has
had no experience in democracy and is called upon to
form a country and write a Constitution in the middle of
a war against an insurgency, and change a culture of
tribal violence and corruption that has been part of
middle-Eastern life for centuries - a tall order in the
best of times and these are not the best of times.
These guys and gals want to go home - and the Iraqis
want them to go home, but not just yet - they won't
predict a date, but feel it will be sooner, rather than
later - there will be no long term occupation of Iraq,
they assure us and it won't take a decade.
Two of our enlisted lunch companions were wounded in
IEDs incidents - patched-up and rehabbed in-country
they are back on light duty describing how their
up-armored Humvees, body armor, no-mex clothing and blast
glasses saved them - wear your gear properly, they advise
- and they repeat they are proud of what they are
doing and eager to resume full duty status.
Not surprisingly, our visit with Prime Minister
al-Jaafari is cancelled. Five days before the election, he
is a busy guy. We drive to another palace to meet the
Minister of the Interior, the Iraqi equivalent of our
head of the Department of Justice, the Attorney
General. It is clear Minister Bayan Jaber's mind is
elsewhere. Accompanied by his official in charge of election
security, Major General Aidan, he carefully describes
the precautions to be taken for the 6500+/- polling
places for the up-coming referendum. Yes, he expects
attempts at major violence. Yes, the Iraqis will handle it
with U.S. backup. Yes, he is confident the Sunnis will
join the voting, but he doesn't know how they will
vote. Through an interpreter he shows us pictures of two
car bombers intercepted and killed five minutes ago.
Our next stop is with Minister of Defense, Dr. Saood
Dulaimy, the Iraqi Donald Rumsfeld - a tall, bearded,
thoughtful, soft-spoken psychologist, an obvious
intellect, he headed a research institute, a think tank,
under the Saddam regime - it must have been an
interesting time. He is a Sunni in a Shia-dominated government.
He describes the insurgency, the problem with Sunni
involvement in the referendum, and leaves no doubt he
will give no quarter to foreign or domestic terrorists
who target innocent civilians, or base their ideology
on hate rather than politics. His eyes are steeled as
he predicts Zarqawi will make a mistake and he will be
captured and hanged in Iraq by Iraqis. He is
optimistic that the Sunnis will join the political process and
Iraq will find its own democratic future, but it will
be a tough row to hoe and won't look like America. He
genuinely thanks us for American help and says we need
you to stay "for now."
The military advisor to the Prime Minister calls,
apologizes for the Prime Minister's absence, and asks to
meet with us. We change our schedule and Major General
Talib al Alkinani describes being a general in the
military under Saddam - he was one, but has obviously
passed the vetting that allows only levels 5-6 Baathists
join the new administration. Levels 1-4 are prohibited
and that causes some level of discontent and
eliminates some very capable personnel from a future with the
new military - oh, well. He feels Syria is a major
factor in the insurgency and is confident about a new
Iraqi military - he is well-spoken, thoughtful and warm.
We helo out and our last session is with Lt. Gen. John
Vines, Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps and
CG, Multi-National Corps, Iraqi Freedom. A Ranger,
Special Forces soldier and paratrooper, he is tall, tough
as nails, and veteran of Afghanistan, both Gulf wars,
Panama and Desert One - how much combat can one stand?
He is in charge of all combat operations in Iraq, U.S
and coalition. We have a long talk - strategy,
politics, worries - he has many, but re-iterates that this
country can do it, and probably, hopefully, faster than
we think. We have just met a soldiers' soldier.
On our last stop after a long day we visit Gen. Vines'
star-wars command center and night-vision-goggle helo
back to the Green Zone for a night time dinner with
Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey and staff - an outside barbeque
- they train the Iraqi forces and also help the new
government ministries. O'Douls is the closest we come to
alcohol in Iraq as we down steaks and chicken before
one last night helo back to our palace and a restful
night.
I am too tired to begin assessing all I have seen.
Besides, we have one more action-filled day tomorrow that
I cannot yet describe for security reasons - but one
thing for certain - there is great disparity between
what is reported in the press and what I have seen and
heard from the troops - some of that is natural. Iraq
is not a safe place. Iraq has problems that would
befuddle most American politicians, but the Americans with
whom we spoke and the Iraqis with whom we met are VERY
optimistic. They feel they are making great progress.
They are confident the Sunnis will vote. They don't
know if the Sunnis will vote for, or against, the
Constitution, but they feel the Sunnis know they made a
mistake last time and know they need to find a way to join
the process now or later - either way it is win for a
fledgling democracy. It will be a rocky road forward -
they know it and many of them will die in the process
if the insurgents have their way - we wished them well
- they thanked us
with firm handshakes and hands over their hearts -
the Iraqi way.
As I write this log, there were two loud explosions
outside - someone said it sounded like it came from the
Green Zone - I'll check the morning reports - after
all, this is Iraq - Don Shepperd
********************************Day Four
It was near a perfect end to a trip - Air Force was
going to beat Navy and I was going to get to watch it
from Baghdad; University of Arizona was going to beat
USC and I was going to get an early morning, nap of the
earth, helo flight to Taji to view Iraqi forces
training.
We got back late from the Green Zone, another
night-vision-goggle mission and I saw Navy beat Air Force in
the last minute. The fact that my son graduated from
Annapolis doesn't enter the equation, he barely mentions
Navy victories.
Then, AZ scared USC through 50 minutes, but forgot the
last 10 - have you ever heard of a team gaining 724
yards? - it sounded like a track meet.
The two nighttime booms were harassment mortars -
almost ignored by the troops - probably coming from the
nearby town.
The early morning Blackhawk helo flight took us over
open fields, low over villages, past palm groves, over
the Tigris River and into the Taji, largest Iraqi
military base. It was the home of Saddam's Hammurabi
mechanized infantry division during the war and heavily
attacked by U.S. airpower. The Iraqis are now rebuilding
the facilities with our help - be careful what you
bomb in war, you might have to paint it later.
Taji is now home for the HQ, 9th Iraqi Division under
the command of Maj. Gen. Bashr, also a general under
Saddam. He rose through the ranks as a company,
battalion and brigade commander of a tank division in the
Iran-Iraq war. Later he was imprisoned by Saddam, given
an eight-year sentence for refusing to put Saddam's
picture in his office, but served only four, for which he
was supposed to be grateful. Taji is a large training
center for Iraqi forces and also home of the 1st
Brigade (mechanized) - two mechanized infantry battalions,
one armor.
The brigade is commanded by Brigadier General "X" (for
his security). His hands are bandaged (burned)and both
he and Gen. Bashr were wounded last week by an IED
during fighting against insurgents north of Taji. "X" was
a POW during the Iran-Iraq war and escaped, though
badly wounded. You can see the fire in his eyes when he
talks about terrorists. These men are true Iraqi
nationalists and their brigade, the first Iraqi brigade to
stand-up, is purposely composed of Sunnis, Shias and
Kurds.
The Brigade S-3 (Ops), Col. "Y" (personal security),
briefs us on the status of training, current operations
against terrorists and recent successes against
insurgents including numbers killed, IEDs disabled, caches
found and HVIs detained - it has been a good month.
They show plans for maintaining their "battlespace" north
of Baghdad. It is a good plan. A long Q&A follows.
Bashr speaks good English and with passion and emotion as
he tells stories of standing up the division including
his experience under Saddam as he was ordered to "rid
his unit of Kurds" - his best tankers.
We are shown equipment, Russian T-72s and BMPs (Bashr
likes them - he would love the Abrams) for which they
have scrounged parts. They proudly take each of us for
a spin in the BMPs - it is a hot, dusty ride. I got
the longest ride, by far - they thought my driver and I
were headed for Iran.
The Iraqi troops look good, seem proud and
well-motivated. They have already been given responsibility for a
sector north of Baghdad, really bad guy country. They
are pacifying it better than could we. They know the
terrain, the actors, the accents. These guys are in
heavy combat regularly - their forte is intelligence.
They can spot a jihadist miles away by clothing,
mannerisms, speech patterns, appearance.
We lunch with Colonel Abbas, the base commander. He is
decidedly pro-American. Insurgents made attempts to
kill him. They didn't, but they did kill his young
daughter He speaks excellent English and gives a short talk
thanking us and asking us to pass his personal thanks
to Americans for ousting Saddam. When Katrina hit
Louisiana, Abbas asked his men to contribute. He
personally contributed half a month's salary and they sent it
to hurricane relief.
Abbas gets a sack of money, $10M, on the 26th of every
month to pay his troops (no central bank in Iraq). He
returns $3-400,000 for those missing duty. This is an
honest, dedicated man who has been personally touched
by terror. Saddam also killed his uncle and cousin and
imprisoned his father. His father just died from the
results of imprisonment Abbas is the future of Iraq -
men like he, Bashr, Kassam and Mohammed will clear out
the terrorists, quicker and better than we -
Inshallah.
As we depart, Abbas grabs my shoulder, puts his hand
over his heart and says - "Goodbye. Thank you for
coming. Tell Americans, thank you." I promised I will.
On the bus back to the helos, the American trainers
and liaisons officers stationed with the 9th tell their
stories - these guys are tigers - they are in combat
weekly - they are good leaders, good men, good Iraqi
nationalists - lets hope Iraq is full of them - 75% of
their troops are former military. Some are also
probably insurgent spies.
As we helo back at low level to Baghdad International
Airport (BIAP) to catch our C-130 back to Kuwait, I
have much to mull. I must let this settle-in before I
write a thinkpiece. Obviously, we have drunk the
Kool-aid - hearing what the U.S forces wanted us to hear,
seeing what they wanted us to see. BUT - it's hard to
fool old military men - our group had access to anyone we
wished, to ask anything we wanted. We did - we know
what to look for and how to ask hard questions to draw
out honest opinions from grunts. We know how to judge
troops and how to look into their eyes for blank
stares. We know how to look at equipment and how to assess
weapons discipline and safety. We know how to read
through charts to sort valid data from bullshit. The six
of us have over 180+ years in the military. We have
several wars between us. We have shot at and hit. We know
how to tell good soldiers from bad. We come back
encouraged, impressed - cautiously optimistic is the block
I would check on a
survey, very cautiously. Right now my worry isn't on
the U.S military side, nor that of the Iraqi security
forces, but on the civilian governments and public in
both countries. Much rides on the referendum this
coming weekend. Much rides on the government to be elected
in December, their first under the new constitution
Much rides on the U.S. public and whether we will stay
the course.
As we depart Taji, I ask Gen. Bashr if it would make
things better if the U.S. left sooner rather than later
- "NO!" he says, "We need you for 4-5 years. We will
defeat this insurgency sooner than you think, but you
cannot leave. You must not leave. We will fight and die
for Iraq, but we need you now." - I believe him.
We C-130 back to Kuwait City, looking down along the
coast. I remember Iraqi tanks, helicopters and troops
invading from the north - watching on Pentagon command
post TV monitors on 3 August 1990. It was an ugly
sight.
We go into the "tent" restaurant at our hotel for a
Ramadan "Iftar" dinner - a traditional dinner to salve
the daily fasting at sundown. It is a splendid buffet
of middle-East delicacies. We talk late for an early
get-up. I can't sleep. I have much to think about.
Perhaps I will stay up for the "Sohoul" buffet at 10:30.
I remember the President in his post-9-11 speech; "We
will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail."
- I wonder - much to think about, indeed - thinkpiece
later - Don Shepperd
