Lightning at the End of the Tunnel – Iraq

After years of US administration propaganda – spin and lies – an active duty Army officer, Colonel Timothy Reese candidly wrote a paper that outlined the collapsing internal security situation in Iraq. He publicly concluded sardonically, that it is time to declare victory and withdraw all US troops soonest; that is, even if it means accelerating the drop-dead, delicately negotiated date of 2012 to the middle of 2010.

The Reese report at least clearly and publicly establishes the fact the US Army was not completely duped by the Iraqi leadership, GW Bush and the neocons. Sorry part of the story is that it permitted all this to happen until now without a whimper.

Some apparently are in a dither over the fact that an active duty military officer made policy statements that appear at odds with existing policy – you can be assured that these hand wringers are from the pro Israel neocon, Lieberman-Bomb Bomb McCain Rat Pack that want the US to remain in Iraq forever as happy, neocolonial occupiers.

One concern over Col. Reese's conclusions is that pro Israel neocons will panic and encourage Israel to foment a crisis bombing of Iran with the objective to pin US forces in Iraq to nursemaid Israel after Iranian counterattacks badly rip Israel.

My sense is that Colonel Reese had his chain-of-command approval before he tip-toed into the media with his paper. Especially after most-decorated military hero Colonel David Hackworth's tribulations, that were imposed on him by the Army for speaking out to the media in opposition to the Vietnam War while on active duty; after this, no active-duty Army officer would risk his career over a moment of integrity. Otherwise, how can you explain the Army marching into the abyss of Iraq without high-ranking protest resignations?

Most experienced enlisted men knew General Tommy Franks War Plan was seriously flawed; certainly as they stood by without orders and witnessed civilian looting of government installations, museums and Saddam's unguarded ammo depots emptied by insurgents.

SecDef Gates chimed in after Reese that things are going so well in Iraq that the US may start draw downs earlier than planned. Some more happy talk of course, but the fix appears in for quicker deployment out of Iraq.

Colonel Reese's document is remarkable in its frankness outlining the problems encountered while training Iraq forces. This paper could have been written easily a year after the invasion. I wrote an OP-ED in the BALTIMORE SUN 5 OCT 2005 when General Patraeus was reassigned after his failures training Iraqi forces and fudging reports on the readiness of these forces.

Unlike Colonel Reese who writes from the heart of occupied Baghdad, imbedded in US command structure, I wrote the critical column from under the palm trees of the Caribbean sipping rum drinks. Point is that what he wrote is not rocket science analysis; thrust of his paper could be found in after-action reports of US military advisors in the Republic of Vietnam years earlier.

Google has Reese's detailed report. He says the US military forces have reached a point of diminishing returns. The Colonel reported that VEEP Biden's recent visit was coldly received by the Iraqi government objecting to US interference in its internal affairs. Cooperation between US forces and government forces in some cases have reached a flash point and there is a risk that US and Iraq government forces could engage in conflict with each other.

The real stickler in Reese's report comes at the end when he calls for a US - Iraq strategic agreement to be signed once all US troops depart – these would be non-combat troops stationed in three big juicy bases built by GW Bush and his neocons for continued occupation. This was inserted in the text as a palliative to congress members who voted for the war and to the military industrial elements who want the war stimulus to continue endlessly. This proposition removes any doubt the paper was staffed through the chain of command. Despite this, several days afterward on 4 August, Commander of US forces IRAQ General Ordinero, dismissed the Reese report... ah, the plot thickens...

Everything in the paper militates against the chance of a post invasion strategic agreement. Add that over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed in the war, over 2 million people displaced and the country destroyed. One thing that the report revealed is that the Iraqi military has a Baathist Soviet culture, so that does not auger well for future US interests.

The US invasion and occupation has sharpened internal tribal animosities and undermined the central government. US arming of Sunnis and its de facto recognition of an independent Kurdistan has set the stage for more bloody civil war.

As of now there is a light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq – too bad it is lightning. So when the time of redeployment finally arrives, it will be HOLD THAT TIGER TIME.

Suggest Colonel Reese's paper be sent to Afghanistan military command as a guide to action setting up Afghan security forces; just change the tribal names and geography. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret