The Washington Post carries an article on how the US has done practically everything wrong in countering the Iraq insurgency, and how it failed to learn the lessons of Vietnam. Chief points:
*Iraq Administrator Paul Bremer’s first order of business was the “De-Baathification of Iraq,” which resulted only in driving an entire movement underground and thus setting the stage for the insurgency.
*The Army’s approach to quelling unrest after the invasion was to have lots of “boots on the ground,” but planners failed to account for the humiliation felt by Iraqis about a western occupier, and the approach became entirely counterproductive when public opinion began to turn against the US.
*The approach to gathering intelligence about the insurgency was to round up thousands of people and interrogate them abusively (most of which ended up being of no value intelligence-wise), at the same time that the counter-insurgency intelligence operation was undermanned and poorly organized. This only resulted in increased resentment by Iraqis, and causing many to be incarcerated for weeks or months thereby giving insurgents in the prison population plenty of time to recruit them.
*Bremer and others obstinately refused to learn from the Vietnam example, even ignoring counterinsurgency textbooks written during that period that in retrospect apply very clearly to what the US is experiencing.
*The Army insisted on conducing an unconventional war conventionally, sending out large numbers of troops and batallions to deal with the insurgency (such as in Fallujah.) This only fomented further insurgency. Rather than seeing the Iraqi people as a playing field, their minds and beliefs should have been seen as the prize. When the Army sent large numbers of troops in to counter an unconventional war, the heavy casualties inflicted on civilians ensured that their hearts and minds would be with the insurgency and against the Americans.
Overall the article is a very interesting read, and a good look into what is turning out to be an extremely expensive and bloody mistake.
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