Posted on 11/03/2005 7:42:43 PM PST by strategofr
In May I was embedded with a detachment of the 8th Engineer Support Battalion Explosive Ordnance Disposal [EOD] at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, headed by Navy Lt. Cameron Chen. In a war in which most U.S. casualties are caused by bombs, no unit is more important — or more hated by the enemy — than EOD. Upon finishing his deployment, Lt. Chen sent out this eloquent letter which (with his permission) I share precisely because it is unlike what you're accustomed to reading in the newspapers.
Dear Family and Friends,
I am sitting on the flight line awaiting a helo [helicopter] to take me away from Fallujah. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Our time here in Iraq is quickly coming to an end.
We have had an outstanding deployment. The number of responses we have conducted has been absolutely astounding. As a detachment, we conducted 1,009 EOD response missions. We neutralized 327 actual IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and 3 VBIEDs [vehicle-borne explosive devices], investigated 69 post-blast scenes, cleared 209 UXO [unexploded ordnance] calls and eliminated 146 weapons caches. In all we destroyed 21,328 items totaling 95,918 lbs of captured enemy ordnance.
Fallujah looks completely different from when we first arrived. The progress in the city has been frustratingly slow but impressive nonetheless. A steady stream of people flow in to re-inhabit its neighborhoods. The new police force is on every street corner.
Every effort is being made to get the Iraqi people able to manage themselves. The Marines are still omnipresent on the streets but you see more and more Iraqi police replacing them. A lot of the trash has been removed, reconstruction is occurring everywhere, and the bustle of people on the streets engaged in commerce is refreshing.
I noticed a gaggle of young girls in uniform blue dresses, pig tails, and white shirts on their way to school. The number of families implies to me that people are fleeing to the security provided by the Iraqis and Marines inside the checkpoints that limit access to the city.
We are still wary of the environment and the surge of incidents correlating with the beginning of Ramadan confirms that the Wild West has yet to be tamed. Detachment 9's [his unit's successor] arrival corresponded with a renewal of activity. They hit the ground running with 30 calls in the first 3 days.
Chief [Warrant Officer] Kellogg was interrogating the witness on the scene of an IED incident when a sniper shot the witness in the back directly in front of him. Chief said he had never been so amped ["excited," obviously in a bad sense] in his life — a rude awakening to another day in the city.
[As this piece went to press, one of Chen's former response trucks was hit by a pressure-plate IED killing one man and seriously wounding another.]
What matters most is how this experience has changed us. Untested, you inevitably doubt yourself and how you will act when the shooting starts or you're on top of an improvised device about to explode. Now we know. It's a gut check when you jock up every day and go outside the [protective] wire not knowing if you will come back. It's exhilarating.
Mac, like most of us, is intensely competitive and nothing excites him more than beating an insurgent at his devious game. Nothing is more clear-cut than going out there and beating the bad guys by disrupting their bomb. But despite all that, he misses his kids. It wrenches his heart to be absent.
Jehu is more introspective. He feels that life here changes your perspective on what is important. In comparison, most problems are trivial especially when compared to the plight of the Iraqi people stuck in the middle of this mess.
We have had a number of close calls that can only be explained by God's grace. Just yesterday we recovered a video tape with footage of Bryan and Mac taken by an insurgent trying to detonate an IED on them. It really brings it all very close to home.
I firmly believe we have made some headway and added to the security of this country and ours. I am not hopelessly optimistic though. The IED incidents are symptomatic of a deeper problem. This is a culture that begets violent regime change. Until people are educated in non-violent protest, all we can do is disarm the masses which will make them inevitably vulnerable.
Regardless of the outcome though, at least people are learning to voice their opinion in a democratic manner.
The helo has come and moved us on to our next stop on the trip home. I can't adequately describe the feeling of sitting in a bird and flying out of the familiar yet alien place that has been your "home" for so long.
It's very odd to leave others behind and watch the lights fade away in the darkness. The rumble and noise of the chopper blades amplifies your senses. The sensation of being lifted away from danger is like being rescued by an angel.
We have been incredibly fortunate to have the privilege of serving here in Iraq. This has been one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. We have done all we could possibly do. We cleared innumerable roads of hazards and prevented countless loss of life. We were in the right place at the right time.
Everyone is grateful for the assignment and thankful for having survived to tell the stories. I want to thank everyone for your continuous support and encouragement regardless of political persuasion and opinion of the war. We couldn't have done it without you.
God bless, LT Cameron Chen, USN
— Michael Fumento is a former paratrooper, nationally syndicated columnist with Scripps Howard News Service, and a senior fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. He was embedded in May with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Fallujah, Iraq to which the 8th EOD is attached.
Conclusions will differ. This letter confirms my belief that we are not going to succeed in Iraq.
US forces are creating dependency. We need to start a slow, gradual drawdown of troops in the middle of the country immediately, form an outer cordon to protect against invasion. Heavier weapons for Iraqis---tanks, artillery. Make the media withdraw from the country.
Let the Iraqis handle it. Brief rough treatment of "civilians" by their army would lead to long term civil harmony under Iraqi rule.
We won't do it because it is domestically unpalatable her in the US.
Likelihood: We'll drift till 11/2008; then a Democrat President will be elected and pull all US troops out of Iraq by 6/2009. Country will be taken over by Iranians.
We are gradually letting them handle more and more.
I supported SF and the ICTF there, and saw them turn more and more over to ICTF as they grew more capable.
We have turned over bases to them as well.
and 3 of the 18 provinces.
It's hard slog, but it's getting done.
I don't know, but I think the longer the Iraqis can enjoy relative calm and freedom, the better their chances of success. True, a timed withdrawal of our troops must begin eventually, but it must be considered carefully. You and I both know, as soon as the insurgents know of the withdrawal, all hell will break loose. The Iraqis are going to need all the moral support they can get.
great name, btw
"I don't know, but I think the longer the Iraqis can enjoy relative calm and freedom, the better their chances of success. True, a timed withdrawal of our troops must begin eventually, but it must be considered carefully. You and I both know, as soon as the insurgents know of the withdrawal, all hell will break loose. The Iraqis are going to need all the moral support they can get."
The problems you cite are real. I base everything on my belief that Americans will elect a Democrat in 2008 just to get us out, combined with the fact that we are simultaneously creating Iraqi dependency on us and generating resentment.
Fallujah looks completely different from when we first arrived. The progress in the city has been frustratingly slow but impressive nonetheless. A steady stream of people flow in to re-inhabit its neighborhoods. The new police force is on every street corner...Every effort is being made to get the Iraqi people able to manage themselves. The Marines are still omnipresent on the streets but you see more and more Iraqi police replacing them.
to
This letter confirms my belief that we are not going to succeed in Iraq....US forces are creating dependency
Your conclusion doesn't follow.
Thanks. It is a good letter. I will pass it on.
"Your conclusion doesn't follow."
Yeah, I was having a hard time following the logic used also.
Our military people on the ground are calling it. President Bush gave our military leaders the ultimate authority from the start - and that is the right way. We have very, very good people in our professional military. If something needs changing, they will so advise Bush and Rumsfield. And it will be changed. Count on it.
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Disagree - sharply.
Iraqi Shiites have as little use for Iranian Shiites as they do for Iraqi Sunni's. Iraq is still a country of tribal loyalties. If Iran could not win a war with a Iraq led by corrupt and incompetent (if ruthless) leadership, how would Iran succeed against a professionally-trained, competent, and newly-unified Iraq and Iraqi Army? Iran may support insurgents and make what trouble it can, but I don't think there is any support at all in Iran for "Iran/Iraq War II".
I actually think a Democrat is more likely if the Iraq campaign is more visably successful by 2007 (i.e. Iraqi military increasingly independent, and U.S. troops drawing down). Sort of like the Churchill (Winston, not Ward) effect.
Moreover, the "War on Terror" is not an artificial, U.S. contrived fabrication. It exists because state-sponsored combatants declared and executed war on the U.S. and Western allies, and have been doing so for some 15-30 years. It will continue whether the Iraqi pacification and independence is successful, and whether U.S. troops are out of Iraq or not.
As long as the war continues, the U.S. electorate will trust no Democrat to lead the country. Not one; none. The next President is not a Democrat unless the GOP totally botches the next election. I could see Congress changing hands, because the Congress under GOP "leadership" has been so ineffective, disunified, and feckless that there remains little cause for the GOP base to get out the vote. And of course, the Senate will be the first to return to Democrat hands. Until the Senior GOP "moderate" (a.k.a. liberal) leadership that has run the Senate since Bob Michels was the SML retires or are defeated, the GOP Senate will be useless or worse. If a GOP Senate cannot routinely and successfully confirm the GOP President's appointments, the GOP Senate is literally good for nothing.
SFS
" Your conclusion doesn't follow."
I'll concede you are correct.
I cannot detail my entire reasoning because it is too long and a significant part is really an intuition based on facts collected in the past but no longer distinctly recollectable.
I tried to briefly outline my thinking and that is all I can do right now. I should have "reference posts" of mine on FR that I could refer you to (give you the address) but I have failed to compile a list of such.
Your post is nudging me towards making such a compilation so I will be able to better respond to queries like yours in the future.
My apologies for the inadequacies of my response here.
Thank you for your excellent response.
"Disagree - sharply."
Fair enough.
"Iraqi Shiites have as little use for Iranian Shiites as they do for Iraqi Sunni's. Iraq is still a country of tribal loyalties."
Well, the news indicates significant high level contacts between Iraqi Shiite leadership and Iran. Accepting your view here for point of argument (I don't know much about it) why would this contact exist? Because the Iraqis are facing political reality. They are living in a sea of Sunnis in the Middle East. The greater tribal loyalty.
"If Iran could not win a war with a Iraq led by corrupt and incompetent (if ruthless) leadership, how would Iran succeed against a professionally-trained, competent, and newly-unified Iraq and Iraqi Army? Iran may support insurgents and make what trouble it can, but I don't think there is any support at all in Iran for "Iran/Iraq War II"."
This conflict would be quite different. Insurgiency (terrorism) and subversion would play a key role. The Russians are a big factor, with the GRU, FSB and Spetnaz playing a role, in my opinion, as they are participants in the current insurgiency (terrorism). (I have no verification of this, sorry). The last Iran/Iraq conflict was between 2 friends of the Russians. This one will be between a friend of Russia and an enemy.
I actually think a Democrat is more likely if the Iraq campaign is more visably successful by 2007 (i.e. Iraqi military increasingly independent, and U.S. troops drawing down). Sort of like the Churchill (Winston, not Ward) effect.
"Moreover, the "War on Terror" is not an artificial, U.S. contrived fabrication. It exists because state-sponsored combatants declared and executed war on the U.S. and Western allies, and have been doing so for some 15-30 years. It will continue whether the Iraqi pacification and independence is successful, and whether U.S. troops are out of Iraq or not."
I agree 100%.
"As long as the war continues, the U.S. electorate will trust no Democrat to lead the country. Not one; none."
Well, Kerry lost the election by 135,000 votes in Ohio. The Dems can win.
"The next President is not a Democrat unless the GOP totally botches the next election. I could see Congress changing hands, because the Congress under GOP "leadership" has been so ineffective, disunified, and feckless that there remains little cause for the GOP base to get out the vote. And of course, the Senate will be the first to return to Democrat hands. Until the Senior GOP "moderate" (a.k.a. liberal) leadership that has run the Senate since Bob Michels was the SML retires or are defeated, the GOP Senate will be useless or worse. If a GOP Senate cannot routinely and successfully confirm the GOP President's appointments, the GOP Senate is literally good for nothing."
I agree strongly with your views here. We have evolved to a new topic, but there is nothing wrong with that!
(I'm sure you share my happiness in DeWine's recent conversion to being a Republican and hope he continues to be.)
"Our military people on the ground are calling it."
If true, this is quite disasterous. Military people are not equipped for such a call. That is the province of the administration.
But I don't really believe it.
The administration keeps a tight lid on the military's "opinions". I read a web reference that said in 2004 numerous generals and other officers were reporting to Congress on various levels about the complete failure of the Iraqi army. The administration heard about it, clamped down, and all the testimonies of the officers did a 180 degree turn.
Sorry, I failed to save the reference, but I believe this happened. Nor is it as bad as it sounds.
Our military is superb. Not only the best in the world---one of the best ever (the Marines are in this category without question.) But the entire reason d'etre of the military is to obey orders---instantly and implicitly. No part of our society is less equipped to make policy. This is as it should be. Their job is to carry out the policy designed by others---loyally, bravely, and with the possible sacrafice of their own lives and the lives of their best friends. This is what we ask of them and this is what they do.
The Command structure is in daily, close consultation with the field and with the Defense Secretary. There are multiple, daily reports from the field. The U. S. Armed Forces of today are communication-oriented to put it mildly. The overall campaign has gone well; and we are meeting the deadlines for establishing the first democracy in the Arab world. The men and women in the field are meeting the test and are damn proud of their accomplishments. And, yes, considering the type of war, we have not done badly with casualities - consider the overall 405,000 U. S. war dead in WWII, a figure brought about by this nation's reluctance to early-on face the rising military aggressions of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Six thousand U. S. Marines dead on Iwo Jima alone. We need some faith in our military people. I've met some of them; and they are the best. Finally, it's not if we can win this war, but that we must win it - and will win it. If there are approaches that are not working, they will be corrected.
"The Command structure is in daily, close consultation with the field and with the Defense Secretary. There are multiple, daily reports from the field. The U. S. Armed Forces of today are communication-oriented to put it mildly."
No doubt true.
"The overall campaign has gone well; and we are meeting the deadlines for establishing the first democracy in the Arab world."
Well, I have a single question: is the Iraqi army getting stronger "fast enough" to be shouldering most of the burden of maintaining order inside Iraq, allowing the US forces to be withdrawn to the periphery by 11/2008.
Otherwise, I believe a Democrat will be elected President. I am not making a case that we should leave Iraq. I am saying if the above is not accomplished, a Democrat President will take us out, very fast and completely. And then the democracy will unravel in the face of external pressures. (I realize I could be wrong and hope I am.)
"The men and women in the field are meeting the test and are damn proud of their accomplishments."
They are and they should be. I'm proud to be a citizen of the country they represent.
" And, yes, considering the type of war, we have not done badly with casualities - consider the overall 405,000 U. S. war dead in WWII, a figure brought about by this nation's reluctance to early-on face the rising military aggressions of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Six thousand U. S. Marines dead on Iwo Jima alone."
Agreed.
"We need some faith in our military people. I've met some of them; and they are the best. Finally, it's not if we can win this war, but that we must win it - and will win it. If there are approaches that are not working, they will be corrected."
My lack of faith is not in the military people. It is in the administration's ability to make the very hard choices we need to make to win. To bulk up the Iraqis with tanks and artillery and some aircraft ASAP, to kick the media out of the country, and to start slowly pulling US forces back to the periphery and let the Iraqis handle the interior---though the handling will be rough.
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