US Must Stop Yelling At Iraqis, Says General

By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:36am BST 24/06/2007

The US troop "surge" in Iraq is being jeopardised by the failure to launch an equivalent offensive on the hearts-and-minds front, according to the general in charge of working with the civilian population.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Lieutenant General Jack Stultz, the head of the US Army Reserve, gave a stark warning that not enough use was being made of civilian affairs officers under his command.

They are charged with talking to ordinary Iraqis and co-ordinating infrastructure projects.

In a downbeat assessment of US-Iraqi military relations, Gen Stultz also warned that cultural differences between the US regular army and Iraqi soldiers had impaired efforts to train local forces to take control of security.

His assessment is widely shared by British commanders but it is a remarkably frank contribution from an American general at a time when President George W Bush's surge strategy to target insurgents with combat power is under scrutiny.

Gen Stultz, who served two years in Iraq before being promoted to command of the Reserve, did not criticise the surge strategy.

But he suggested that the increase in "kinetic warfare" should now be accompanied by more work for what he calls the Reserve's "warrior citizens": the doctors, lawyers, police, firemen, bankers and engineers under his command who help build roads and run clinics, schools, power plants and water treatment facilities.

He said: "There hasn't been a civil affairs surge. We have been providing a certain level of civil affairs capability. I'm not sure we're always capitalising on the civil affairs non-kinetic effect as best as we can. Before you go in and use the hard effect, there's the opportunity to go in with the civil affairs and talk to the local community."

Gen Stultz said that when he arrived in Iraq in 2003 "there was a pretty good degree of co-operation" between Iraqis and the "civil affairs soldiers in my command" in identifying insurgents.

He claimed that co-operation still existed in parts of Iraq, notably the Kurdish areas in the north, but he admitted: "In some areas the population has almost become intimidated.

"You've got to build trust with the local people, to say, 'Help us'. If we're going to turn around the situation, we need to have the local population identify [insurgents]."

Some 162,000 reservists have served abroad, most in Iraq, since the September 11 attacks. Reserve Army officers are also heavily involved in training the Iraqi army to take over security control.

Gen Stultz painted a gloomy picture of relations between the US regular army and its students in the Iraqi forces. He quoted a recent conversation with one Reserve major who worked for a medical device company in civilian life and then served in Mosul alongside regulars and Iraqis.

Gen Stultz said: "The Army Reserve soldier had a different perspective of how to handle the situation from the active army. He said, 'the first reaction working with the Iraqi soldiers from the active army was the traditional drill sergeant approach: just yell at the guy.

"If he's not wearing his helmet at the right time, just scream at him. The Iraqi soldier wasn't used to that. In some cases they would be offended or indignant.' "

The general said the major had told him that "those of us in the Army Reserve who deal with the civilian population of America would never scream at a customer because I know he would just walk away".

Gen Stultz said that some Reserve officers developed a closer relationship with Iraqi soldiers than did their active counterparts. "You can't treat everyone as if they're an American soldier. Everyone's culture is different."

Reserve commanders meet the regulars every couple of months at Fort Monroe, Virginia, to exchange "lessons learned" in Iraq.

"When we're training units up for deployment, part of that includes cultural awareness," Gen Stultz said. "The training involves how you treat the local population."

At first I started getting my panties all knotted up..then I realized the article was from The Telegraph....

prisoner6

2 posted on 06/23/2007 7:21:04 PM PDT by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country together as the loose screws of the Left fall out.)

Hummm. The same thing could have been said in 2003. And then in 2004. And 2005. 2006.

There is no need for a CA surge at this point, its lost. There should have been a State, Treasury, Interior, HHS and Eduction Department surge in 2003. That probably would have done a bit more for us than a few CA guys. Hell, the infantry guys don’t even listen to them, much less understand how to utilize their skills. Good initiative, General, but your lack of horse power comes a bit too late in the game.

“Reserve commanders meet the regulars every couple of months at Fort Monroe, Virginia, to exchange “lessons learned” in Iraq. “

This was a “lesson’s learned” exercise. He is expected to talk about ways to improve.

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