Not only does this call into question the whole U.S. enterprise in Iraq, but it will no doubt be conducted with no effort whatsoever made to determine whether or not these officers hold to the ideology of the "insurgency." After all, why should such an inquiry be made, when the Iraqi Constitution stipulates that no law can be passed in Iraq that contradicts Sharia? The goal of the "insurgency" is within their grasp, if they can stop killing each other. From Reuters, with thanks to Mackie:
BAGHDAD, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday Iraqi army officers of all ranks sacked after the U.S. invasion in 2003 would be allowed to reapply for their posts in the new army.The Shi'ite premier issued the invitation, a gesture towards disgruntled minority Sunnis, at a national reconciliation conference in Baghdad aimed at easing sectarian violence that U.N. officials estimate causes more than 100 deaths a day.
Shortly after the U.S. invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, U.S. administrator Paul Bremer quickly dissolved the Iraqi army, a decision experts consider a miscalculation. Many of its members then joined the ranks of the Sunni insurgency.
The Defence Ministry has recruited former officers of Saddam's army in the past but limited the invitation to junior ranks. Maliki's invitation was the first extended to all ranks.
"The new Iraqi army is opening the door to former Iraqi army officers. Those who do not come back will be given pensions," he told a conference of Kurdish, Sunni Arab, Shi'ite and secular politicians....
Saddam had used the military to reinforce his hold on power, but some experts argue that former members of the disbanded army, suddenly jobless, went on to help form the insurgency.
Of course. As I'd said before Saddam was our buddy for years over there and Little George threw the whole game off. He should be a warning to anyone else willing to do the dirty work for our "elites:" they'll stab you in the back and dump your body in a ditch as soon as they're finished with you.
Oh... And you will never be good enough to join their club so don't even think about it.
l dont think those officers of saddam will go into the fold easily, as they are out numbered, and with the majority shites they will always fear being killed. the big mistake was for Bush to dismiss Saddam's officers. who knows what will happen. but l think its too late to call them back.
Pretty funny stuff. It's as if Germany went from de-nazification to re-nazification in 1950.
They call Korea the forgotten war, someday they may call this war the retarded war. Due exclusively to the decisions and actions of non military personnel. With all the talk of pullout, pullback, redeploy[…], divide it up, rebuild, more troops, negotiate with iran/syria, give some Israeli land back to the terrorists, geez, what are we doing?
There really wasn't any point in retaining Saddam's old army except as an employment agency. The enlisted were either poorly-trained draftees who didn't want to fight, or Saddam loyalists with a thirst for Shia and Kurdish blood. The officers - and there were many, many officers - were (apart from being Saddam loyalists) incapable of independent judgement, relying entirely on orders from above.
The Iraqi army is much better now in some ways than it was under Saddam. Maliki is just trying to undermine it so as to prevent a coup that would overthrow him. If he succeeds, he will destroy the only working institution in Iraq.
It is time. Send the American troops around to the villages to collect the Christians, then get out. Let Saudi Arabia and Iran, and their proxies, go at it.
From the article:
We hear this over and over. The unstated, and unproven (and false), assumption is that if Bremer had not dissolved the army, they would not have joined the insurgency. If we had just left them in control of army weaponry, they would have lived in peace. Sunni would have loved Shi'ite, Shi'ite would have loved Kurd. If only we infidels hadn't come and made them join the insurgency.
...because killing people paid so well? I've been laid off/downsized/RIF'ed more than once in my life, and I never joined the insurgency and started killing my (non-existent) ethnic rivals. Silly me, I just went and looked for another job to pay the bills.
They didn't join the insurgency because they were unemployed. They joined the insurgency because infidels had conquered an Islamic nation, and the Qur'an was quite clear on what their obligations as Muslims are under those conditions.
Let's be honest. These schizophrenic policies come from basing our planning on false assumptions. It only made sense to disband the Iraqi army if there were only a few "radicals" among them; we could have replaced them with the "vast majority of moderates", and ended up with a pluralistic and professional army. But lo and behold, we found out that the entire Iraqi society are "the radicals"; anti-Western, pro-shariah, and with loyalty only to their clan and religious sect, not to their "countrymen" at large.
The Iraqi army was disbanded by the US Army. We destroyed those who stood up to us. The rest ran away. Bremmer did little more than file papers making it official.
The Insurgents came from Syria and Jordan when the 4th ID. couldn't deploy from Turkey through Friendly Kurdish lines.(Thank you France).
Saddam Loyalists. set up their plans in the 3 extra months we jerked around in the UN.(thank you France)
Nobody put the Jihadists in the equation. But the press counted them as Civilians.
In a round about way I feel the President is setting up everything Hugh is asking for. And then some.
It is just that Iran needs to be knocked down a Century or two. To even things up a bit.
Back to the Regan policy of keeping the two sides at each others throats.
COME ON you have to be joking. Wernt these the men who caused havoc after the US went into Iraq...
I never thought that I would ever say this as I have always believed that dispite the lies that the media told us that we were doing well there but now I say, America get out now...if they want to kill themselves let them do it, as long as they dont have nuclear as that could kill the world...
The United States is the sliver making the finger fester. We need to stay long enough to spread the infection further.
The American people need to to see for themselves that the "Middle East" is unwilling to live at peace with us.
Politics has kept us from following in Sherman's footsteps.
Rumsfeld used what force was necessary to render Iraq useless as a Nation State.
I bet Rumsfeld is hated by the Allies of the unwilling because he had no intention of staying.
It is the opposition that is ranting the line of "you broke it you bought it'.
We end with Bushes War and a loss.
We really have not lost. It is Iraq that will only sink into the morass it wishes upon itself.
If removing someone who himself was a mass murder. Offering in return a better life that is open to peace. And the party still rejects it. After all the Blood and Treasure on our part. should be sufficient reason to wash our hands of them.
The behavior in Iraq clearly points to the type of behavior we can expect from Iran. We need to bring The Iranian Issue to a head where Iraq can cover Military movements
There was no way American Forces were going to leave the Gulf at the beginning of all this without the removal of Saddam and enforcement of UN resolutions.
There is no way we will leave Iraq without dealing with Iran.
The opposition in the Security Council may be induced to at least sitting on the sidelines if we leave the oil installations alone.
The Iranian People need to be made to understand that if they continue to trash talk us. While pursuing Nuclear ambitions. they will need to walk to Iraq for Vacation.