US general: 'Iraq is a failed state created by the United States'

Warning: The genaral is still feeding us the bs "victory", "war on terror" guff.

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Victory will require sacrifice
By JOHN BATISTE

Posted: Nov. 25, 2006

Iraq is a failed state created by the United States. Our senior leadership did this to Iraq, ourselves and our allies.


America is losing a battalion's worth of dead and wounded Americans - as many as 800 men and women - every month and spending up to $2 billion a week on a failed strategy.

We are hemorrhaging our national treasure in blood and dollars without anything of relevance to show for it.

The Bush administration continues to get the strategy wrong and to understate the magnitude of the task in Iraq.

If we permit this to continue, we will guarantee that we fail. Victory will require the leadership, sacrifice and commitment that Americans have not demonstrated since World War II.

Our national security is at stake, and it is past time for change. Failure in Iraq would doom the Middle East to a wider conflict that would pit Sunni Muslims against Shiites, Kurds against Arabs, Turks and Iranians, and nation against nation, ultimately threatening Israel.

Failure would injure the U.S. in ways that we cannot fathom, and, in the end, it would cost far more than it would to save Iraq.

It is not too late, however. Victory is non-negotiable, and we must finish what we started in Iraq with new leadership and a new strategy. We no longer can fight this war on the cheap.

There is only one rational solution: Employ a bold new strategy to change the dynamics on the ground in Iraq as quickly as possible.

Allow me to offer an alternative strategy and way ahead for debate in the days and weeks ahead.

• Fix Iraq's huge unemployment problem.

Since America cannot increase troop strength in Iraq fast enough, the only alternative is to deny the insurgents an enormous manpower pool by drafting large numbers of combat-age Iraqi men into national service and paying them attractive wages.

The vast majority of insurgents are not hard-core ideologues but unemployed Iraqis desperate to support their families. Devise a draft system that tribal sheiks support and that screens large numbers of men to serve their country either in the military or in jobs designed to put the country back together.

• Give tribal sheiks incentives to be part of the solution.

This will encourage them to cooperate with the Iraqi government at a price that pales in comparison to the amount of money we are wasting today.

Recognize that the sheiks wield enormous influence and that an Iraqi identifies first with his or her tribe, then ethnic origin as Arab or Kurd, then religion as a Sunni or a Shiite.

• Secure the borders with Iran and Syria.

Stop the flow of support to the insurgency from both countries. Consider recruiting a special border security force of 100,000 or more by hiring ex-military from NATO contributing nations, or give the Saudis, Jordanians and Egyptians, who already have an enormous stake in stabilizing Iraq, incentives to provide forces. The rule of law can never take root in Iraq until its borders are secure.

• Get serious about standing up the Iraqi security forces.

This is our No. 1 priority in Iraq; we must embrace it as our main effort. Pour into the Iraqi army, police and border security forces the right quantity of resources so they can fight the insurgency on a level playing field. Select our best officers to embed with Iraqi security forces and equip the Iraqis to succeed.

• Get a sufficient number of coalition troops into Iraq to establish security as a precursor to the rule of law.

Tens of thousands of additional coalition troops may be required. There can be no sanctuary for terrorists and militias in Iraq, and the practice of shifting forces from one province to another does not work and defies counterinsurgency doctrine. For nearly four years, the myth of Sisyphus has played out over and over in Iraq.

• Federalize Iraq and help the Iraqis construct their own form of representative government.

The current European parliamentary model that the Coalition Provisional Authority imposed on Iraq is not working.

Devise a system with three regions and with preconditions designed to influence behavior.

Iraq needs a representative government that takes into account the tribal, ethnic and religious complexities that have defined the land for centuries.

• Deal with the militias.

Provide incentives to encourage militias to disband and become part of the solution, or crush them. The likes of Muqtada al-Sadr cannot be allowed to dictate policy or undermine the rule of law.

• Engage with both friendly and unfriendly governments to get Iraq under control.

Strengthen and build coalitions of the willing. Dialogue is fundamental, and we must engage with all countries, including Iran and Syria. Work to open diplomatic missions in both countries. We must get closer to our enemies.

• Finally, mobilize the United States.

Put our government on a wartime footing. Consider alternative ways to finance the war with rationing programs and fuel surcharges. Our leaders need to step up and explain the "what, why, how long and what it will cost" to each and every one of us.

Properly resource our great military in force structure and dollars. Our high-performing Army and Marine Corps are far too small for our national strategy. They are at a breaking point, and they no longer are in a position to respond to other worldwide contingencies. Indeed, a draft may be required to win a protracted war on terror.

Fix the interagency process, which is seriously dysfunctional. We must insist upon unity of effort with all government departments fully engaged, united and committed to win. And fully resource the Veterans Affairs Department to care for our returning wounded veterans properly.

Set the United States on a path to develop alternative sources of fuel within the next five years. There is no reason why America should remain dependent on foreign oil. This is all about leadership.

Victory against the jihadists is the most important issue of our time. Victory in Iraq is now a crucial component in this war. The war in Iraq must be above partisan politics if America is to win the war on terror, prevent a meltdown of the Middle East and prevent a catastrophic weapons-of-mass-destruction attack on our homeland.

We owe this to our incredible military, their families, our nation and ourselves.

Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste commanded the Army's First Infantry Division both in Iraq and in Kosovo. He's now president of Klein Steel Services in Rochester, N.Y.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=534942