Originally posted at my site Bob Higgins
Before I had a chance to finish my first cup of coffee this morning I was swatted with the news (from Al Jazeera) that Iraq says we “must stay until 2020.”
This shocking news came from Lieutenant General Babaker Zerbari and therein lies the crux of the problem. Zerbari is a Lieutenant General and Iraq’s most senior military officer.
We send Lieutenant Generals out for coffee and donuts in the morning. We have Bird Colonels sharpening pencils and Major Generals escorting defense lobbyists to strip clubs.
The Iraqis obviously know nothing about running a military operation and haven’t been paying attention these last seven years.
Why they would expect to get significant results, the record of victories that our military leadership is known for with such junior people running the show is beyond me.
Zerbari says that his forces aren’t ready to take over, this in spite of our years of rigorous training and the payment of countless billions of dollars to every level of Iraq’s military just to get them to fall in at roll call in the morning.
Zerbari says that our withdrawal will increase instability in the country and heaven knows the last thing we want to be responsible for is an unstable Iraq.
This will almost certainly put a glitch in our plans to leave Iraq before Labor Day.
“At this point, the withdrawal is going well, because they are still here,” Zerbari told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.
“But the problem will start after 2011 -the politicians must find other ways to fill the void after 2011. If I were asked about the withdrawal, I would say to politicians: the US army must stay until the Iraqi army is fully ready in 2020.”
Get it? In order to have a proper and orderly withdrawal we have to stay.
This is what happens when you put junior people in charge.
it’s not like leaving 50,000 combat ready troops in country is really a withdrawal…is it.
realistically, how in hell are the iraqi military…an oxymoron if ever there was one…going to step up and take charge when the iraqis’ haven’t had a functioning government since the elections back in march?
too many people like al-maliki and general zebari have gotten too rich and too lazy to advocate anything that would jeopardize the gravy train coming from the u.s.
we’re never leaving, the citadel in the green zone is testament to that.
You’re right. I’m sure that they are much less concerned with keeping large numbers of our forces in place than they are with keeping the enormous monthly flow of dollars streaming into their pockets.
“the iraqis’ haven’t had a functioning government since the elections back in march?“
You are being too generous. The Iraqis have not had a functioning government since the U.S. overthrew their government in 2003. Prior to that they did not have a great government, and from 1991 on their government was badly crippled by the United States, but at least they had an independent government. Since then they have had nothing of the sort.
And thanks for using the correct term of citadel for what the Americans risibly call an embassy. If you ever take a visit to the great Medieval citadels in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, you will understand well what the United States is doing in Iraq.
I dont think all those permanent bases were built so we could leave, or at least not unless forced out
Precisely correct.
In this case it’s what happens when you put a Kurd from a very political family in charge of a very political situation.