The General of the Central Command in charge of Iraq pointed that we could have done better after taking Baghdad to begin with. I agree. He also said one thing that I must echo. Every time he goes to sit before Congress in Washington D.C. he feels despair. He was taken to task by two soon two be Presidential candidates, Senators McCain and Hillary Clinton. They both say that the status quo here in Iraq could not continue and that the status quo was what votes voted against. I would like to point out that neither one have come to Iraq to see what is that we do here nor have either one of them come up with a solid strategy that is going to help us.
I have an idea that I think will go along way in helping us cut down on the sectarian violence. I must say that this idea is not my own, I have spoken with some of the Iraqis that I work with and this is what they have made a suggestion.
One thing that can be done is to move the Iraqi police and Army out of where they live. If a soldier or police officer lives in Baghdad send them either north or south and bring those who do not live in Baghdad to Baghdad. Also we need to press the government to disband the militias, especially the militants in Sadr City.
Now in order for you to understand the logic behind this plan you must understand that the Iraqi people are very tribal and put family and tribe ahead of everything. For example, if my cousin or relative is placing road side bombs or shooting mortar rounds at area bases, I will not turn them in even if I am an IA or IP, because they are family. That’s how it works here. That is why this is such a tough and difficult fight.
If congress does a “phase redeployment” Al Qaeda in Iraq, which is already claiming victory because of how the election turned out, will claim that they single handedly drove out the American “occupying forces.” This would do great damage to the United States in the Middle East Region because perception is everything. We will be perceived as weak, and no one will respect the United States military if Congress goes ahead and throws in the towel. My suggestion to all of you in Congress, let the Generals who have more time at lead troops in battle than you do run this war. They have eyes on what is going on over here and they have the will, as do we all, to win this fight, not just tuck tail and run.