tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post9020574592426966013..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: Did the U.S. Ever Have A Strategy To Win In Iraq Before the Surge?Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-36227870367183673762008-08-20T08:35:00.000-07:002008-08-20T08:35:00.000-07:00I think this was roughly the timeline for training...I think this was roughly the timeline for training the Iraqi police. 1) NY City police chief, 2) 1-2 private contractors, 3) National Guard, 4) Petraeus, 5) 2006 Year of the Police<BR/><BR/>None of these training programs seemed to work. The NY guy did nothing. The contractors spent lots and achieved little. The National Guard had no training to do training. Petraeus got the regular army to take over but by then all the emphasis was on building up the Iraqi army, not the police. After him it was 2006 "The Year of the Police" which from all accounts did little to nothing.<BR/><BR/>Today the police are still locally controlled with thousands having been hired by local authorities with no training. They are under local political, social and tribal influence and are not coordinated with the Interior Ministry. From reports it appears the National Police have actually been rebuilt after they were known as being a Shite death squad.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-57830047682139729702008-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:002008-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00No, the show didn't interview Bremer or any top go...No, the show didn't interview Bremer or any top government officials. In the "sources" section at the end of the article I think I listed most of the people that were interviewed.<BR/><BR/>As soon as the invasion was over the U.S. had plans to pull out most of the troops, then as things got sketchy they had to keep them. <BR/><BR/>The history of setting up the Iraqi policy were totally haphazard and still have not worked out to this day. I can't remember all the steps, but I think the first thing Bremer did was bring in the NY City police chief who got famous on 9/11 to try to put the police together but he spent more time running around trying to make arrests and get in the news rather than actually build a force. Then the job got passed on to a private contractor that spent a lot of money and did very little. Can't remember the history after that. I have to go back through my notes to get some more specifics.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-40976531025550140512008-08-20T03:00:00.000-07:002008-08-20T03:00:00.000-07:00Did the program interview Paul Bremer? According t...Did the program interview Paul Bremer? According to his book, as early as August 2003, Bremer was alerted by his deputy, Clay Manaway, that the army and DoD were worried about the troop rotation due in the following spring of 2004. They were expecting and wanted a major drawdown before then. They were of the idea that the CPA could organise the fast-track training of enough Iraqi police (!) or border security guards (!) to replace US combat (!) troops.<BR/><BR/>In the September he says Abizaid recommended Sanchez should take over from the CPA the training of these police who were supposedly going to replace combat troops.<BR/><BR/>As time went on, as Bremer's account goes, the Pentagon got more and more desperate about the troop rotation. Wolfowitz started pitching that the IA could take over police duties. In October, again according to Bremner's acount, Abizaid has ordered Sanchez recruit 30,000 half educated unemployed in 30 days, run them through a 3 week training course, arm them and send them back on the streets as "police" - all to replace US combat troops. <BR/><BR/>In the end, of course, it was these police who went missing in action in April 04 and were so thoroughly infiltrated by militia they had to be replaced or retrained in 06 and 07.<BR/><BR/>Fallujah and the Mahdi uprising in March, April 04, put paid to the idea of withdrawing combat troops.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure this account of Bremer's has received the attention it deserves - but when the history of this war is written ....?<BR/><BR/>(Miscellaneous anonymous guy)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com