October 26, 2006
TRY TRUSTING THEM:
Iraqi PM sees peace in 6 months - if U.S. cooperates (Mariam Karouny and Alastair Macdonald, 10/26/06, Reuters)
In sharp criticism of the handling of Iraq's security by the United States, Nuri al-Maliki denied U.S. assertions he was working to a timetable of steps agreed with Washington.He also told Reuters in an interview he had no fear the Americans might oust him, after President George W. Bush said on Wednesday his patience was "not unlimited" and that he would back Maliki "as long as he continues to make tough decisions".
"They think building Iraqi forces will need 12 to 18 months, for us to be in control of security," Maliki said, referring to remarks two days ago by U.S. commander General George Casey.
"We agree our forces need work but think that if, as we are asking, the rebuilding of our forces was in our own hands, then it would take not 12-18 months but six might be enough."
He called for more say on security policy once the U.S.-led Coalition's U.N. mandate runs out in December.
"If anyone is responsible for the poor security situation in Iraq it is the Coalition," Maliki said.
"I am now prime minister and overall commander of the armed forces yet I cannot move a single company without Coalition approval because of the U.N. mandate," Maliki said.
"I have to be careful fighting some militias and terrorists ... because they are better armed than the army and police," Maliki said. "The police are sharing rifles."
I'm reading the outstanding Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965, by Mark Moyar, and one of the parallels that really stands out is the way the "helpful" meddling of the Americans, French and others tended to hamstring the quite competent and well-regarded (by the Vietnamese) Diem. Rather than helicopter in and pretend to know exactly how these societies need to be run, we ought to trust them to be able to figure things out by themselves for the most part and stand by to provide just, but nearly all, the assistance they actually ask for. It goes without saying that the elected government should have the final say over how it deploys its own forces and that we should be supplying them adequately. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 26, 2006 12:56 PM
The Moyar book, which I have not yet read, is reported to deal with the lesser Dolchstoss, the betrayal of the pro-Western regime of Jean Baptiste Diem. Diem's offense was that of King Mieszko I, in 966, namely to have led his country toward Christianity.
What does all this have to do with Iraq? Much indeed. We are similarly crippled in Iraq today by failure of will to victory.
Posted by: Lou Gots at October 26, 2006 4:25 PMWashington's problem with Diem wasn't religious, it was that we thought he could be as liberal as we while trying to fend off the North, the French and traitors at home.
Posted by: oj at October 26, 2006 5:16 PM