As you may have noticed (and may or may not have cared), my next Iraq post isn't up. It's a hard post to write, and I need a solid two or three hours at the computer just to get started - and that hasn't been forthcoming.
I could be like Jake Blues and make a long list of excuses, but I'll just say that it's owed, events aren't yet making it obsolete, and if I can get ahead of work and family obligations, it'll be the first thing that I do.
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In the interim, i'll take this opportunity to stop filibustering the Iraq Report and make a note here to check out this report on Ramadi which is a little bit of hopeful news for once.
The lesson there, I think, is that the father from the politics and corrupting influence of Baghdad, the more successful the American-Iraqi connection can be. Ramadi is ground zero for foriegn jihadis and Sunni insurgents, but it seems like a lot more Jihadi killing and Iraqi training is happening than violence riddled Baghdad.
The IA and IP are getting equipped effectively because US forces are physically handing their troops the equipment. They are getting trained because US advisors are working directly with them day to day. In Baghdad the Iraqi ministries scew all that up.
I think if we are going to take a real last ditch effort to save our Iraqi endeavor, we are going to have to deal with this dilemna. Our ulimatum to the Iraqi government needs to be that we will take back direct control of all armed forces and police in Iraq. That way we can hopefully weed out the death squads, and put the troops back to good use instead of doing whatever they are doing currently that makes them so invisible. We need to embed American advisors into virtually every Iraqi unit and put them to work locking down Baghdad.
Assuming we arent going to send enough US troops to do this job, we have no other choice but to co-opt Iraqi forces and stiffen them with Americans. That will mean thousands of Americans in isolated posts surrounded by Iraqis with guns, and that is dangerous. But we are out of good choices here, and waiting in our bases for the situation to detiorate is dangerous as well.