Listen very carefully. They are insurgents because they want control of their country back from the Shiites, who were given it by L. Paul Bremer. Now, write that on the blackboard twenty times and don’t count too much on American rules of engagement.
The U.S. military will use its funds to "jump-start" the local forces in stages, U.S. officers said. Initially, the military will pay local residents who call in successful tips that turn up roadside bombs or weapons, or lead to the capture of insurgents. Next, it will identify residents for the security forces, vet their names and take their fingerprints, and require them to take an oath of loyalty to the government.
Which brings a whole new meaning to the term jump-start. But Colonel, wasn’t that supposed to be what we bought for our $19 billion?
A chief concern for U.S. troops will be how to prevent intentional or accidental conflicts between the groups, said Lt. Col. George A. Glaze, commander of 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, who oversees the Sadiyah neighborhood where the 250 Sunnis volunteered. "I see the firefight on the street corner" between Iraqi police and local forces, he said, "and I have to pick a side?"
Much more likely Colonel, that you won’t know who the hell is who, since most Iraqi death squads, insurgents, kidnappers and other violent types find it useful to wear the uniforms of Iraqi police. In a country where we don’t speak the language, can’t read the street signs and have to rely on unreliable interpreters; a place where we have sent home and made pauper anyone who knew anything--someone made the preposterous decision to arm those who were kicked out.
We euphemistically call that an improvement to security. It’s called that, not because it is, but because we desperately need something that goes by the name and time is running short. Colonels Gibbs and Glaze are not to blame, nor perhaps is a desperate administration at this point. They set today up for disaster by the hubris and incompetence of decisions made five years ago.
It’s too late for blame in any form that brings satisfaction. Too late to fix what needs to be fixed, too late to save the disaster that will occur when we leave, too late to leave with even a semblance of honor. Except individually. It is still not too late to die for your country. Individually, from first death to today’s, American troops have unhesitatingly offered themselves up to kick down doors, give candy and high-fives to kids and die with honor for the misbegotten political intransigence of those less honorable.
Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, the Iraqi commander overseeing the five-month-old U.S.-Iraqi security plan, has given only verbal approval for Iraqi security forces to allow the new armed groups to operate unhindered in specific areas that he has visited, such as Abu Ghraib and Mansour, said Campbell, who escorted the Iraqi general to the areas.
Reading the general’s thoughts; “You Americans gonna give these Sunnis weapons?”
Cognizance doesn’t count for much on the way out, for those left behind.Targeting the Sunni recruits would be easy for the government after their names are provided for vetting, Campbell said. "What we have to make sure is they don't take those names and turn around and say, 'Hey, this is our targeting list.' We're very cognizant of that."
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