Posted on 05/13/2007 7:14:01 AM PDT by RDTF
Once conventional wisdom congeals, even facts can't shake it loose. These days, everyone "knows" that the Coalition Provisional Authority made two disastrous decisions at the beginning of the U.S. occupation of Iraq: to vengefully drive members of the Baath Party from public life and to recklessly disband the Iraqi army. The most recent example is former CIA chief George J. Tenet, whose new memoir pillories me for those decisions (even though I don't recall his ever objecting to either call during our numerous conversations in my 14 months leading the CPA). Similar charges are unquestioningly repeated in books and articles. Looking for a neat, simple explanation for our current problems in Iraq, pundits argue that these two steps alienated the formerly ruling Sunnis, created a pool of angry rebels-in-waiting and sparked the insurgency that's raging today. The conventional wisdom is as firm here as it gets. It's also dead wrong.
Like most Americans, I am disappointed by the difficulties the nation has encountered after our quick 2003 victory over Saddam Hussein. But the U.S.-led coalition was absolutely right to strip away the apparatus of a particularly odious tyranny. Hussein modeled his regime after Adolf Hitler's, which controlled the German people with two main instruments: the Nazi Party and the Reich's security services.
-snip-
Our goal was to rid the Iraqi government of the small group of true believers at the top of the party, not to harass rank-and-file Sunnis. We were following in the footsteps of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in postwar Germany. Like the Nazi Party, the Baath Party ran all aspects of Iraqi life. Every Iraqi neighborhood had a party cell. Baathists recruited children to spy on their parents, just as the Nazis had. Hussein even required members of his dreaded intelligence services to read "Mein Kampf."
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Like our fight with the NAZI’s it’s time for the heavy bombers and a little dirty Sunnicide. Bring on Plan B.
A little more rubble, a lot less trouble.
Good one! Are you available to take over from Gates? We need someone like you at the top.
That should have been their call and let them rise or fall as destiny would have it.
But the U.S.-led coalition was absolutely right to strip away the apparatus of a particularly odious tyranny.
Yes because that's our role in the world...oh wait a minute, no it isn't. Is Mr. Bremer now suggesting our Armed Forces be in the business of replacing any tyrant that mistreats his people? Cause if that's the case, this is going to be a long, long, long, police action
I’m sure some folks are tired of hearing it — but that doesn’t diminish the truth of the matter..
Fight like WWII, end like WWII — with success.
Fight like Vietnam, end like Vietnam — with failure.
No “nation building” effort can be successful until the nation and people that we went to war against are unconditionally DEFEATED and BLED WHITE...
NEITHER of which has yet taken place in Afghanistan or Iraq..
We still haven’t learned the insanity of “putting boots on the ground” before the “ground” consists of a single layer of smoldering rubble and the survivors have been totally cowed into unconditional surrender.
America must get over it’s obsession to be loved by our enemies...
Since that love is unachievable — we should be focused on being feared so deeply that our enemies nightmares over the “next coming” of those crusaders from the West...
I agree with everything you said now to find someone who can make it happen.
I like Bremer, and his book was very interesting. The trouble with the “what if” school of history is that there is no way to tell how things might be different if you imagine changing something in the past. Critics should focus on the present.
If we had kept Saddam’s flunkies in the military, the Left would be bitching about THAT and blaming THAT for the insurgency, so it doesn’t matter what we could have done.
Bremer got that right.
Our troops and our dollars have brought amazing progress in Iraq. Go to the Dept. of Defense website to learn how 47 countries have re-established their embassies there; over 300 schools reconstructed and operating; many radio and tv stations working, and on and on. What the MSM doesn’t want you to know.
Our role in the world is to kill tyrants who are attacking our military. After October, 2003, Hussein was the only leader in the world who was overtly attacking our military. That meant he had to go. But I guess the lesson some people took away from 9/11 is that we should ignore attacks on Americans until we have thousands of people killed in our homeland
bookmark
river rat for SECDEF.
Interesting article.
It's obvious to most everyone, including those in the first Bush administration, the Bremer was a disaster, exceeded only by Rumsfeld attempting a massive job on the cheap.
But that's not what Paulie said was it. And it's not what many in the administration said.
After October, 2003, Hussein was the only leader in the world who was overtly attacking our military
In the vernaculur of the kids today, well..yeah. The police action had started by then. Sort of circular logic isn't it? We had to remove the tyrant because the tyrant was ordering his troops to attack troops intent on removing him from power.
But I guess the lesson some people took away from 9/11 is that we should ignore attacks on Americans until we have thousands of people killed in our homeland
Yes because Iraq had so much to do with 9/11. Oh that's right they didn't. I suppose we'll be going after Mugabe next? Or will it be Turkey? Whose side do you take in that one? They have democracy which in effect will elect a Muslim leader or the military which will prevent that but in effect destroy the democracy.
Perhaps instead of trying to remove tyrants who, while evil men, don't represent a direct threat to the borders of this nation of states we should not intervene in something that is none of our business
I meant October, 2001. My point was that after our military took out Mullah Omar, there was only one national leader in the world that was actively shooting at our people.
Did we help rebuild Germany and Japan because we had alot in common with Nazis and Japanes Imperialists or because if we didn't somebody else would move in?
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