I suppose you can start planning an accelerated withdrawal.Originally Posted by Team Infidel
You just have to love the Iraqi political season.... However, I still think you can pull a BCT or two out of here early and still have the same advisory effect. As for us planners... we're screwed.
For what it is worth coming from a POG I think you HAVE TO pull out a BCTs or two BEFORE the elections if we want to keep the Iraqis as strategic partners. Probably not a popular view since we feel we have to be here to ensure a fair election but I have a feeling we will not be asked for much help from the government in supporting the election process. It would demonstrate our trust in thier ability to govern themselves. (How far away you move them is a seperate matter.) Probably would not hurt if we gave back a few more historic sites like palaces and such.
My hope now rests with the limited impression we made on the junior officers. As they grow through the ranks and the old guard losses power these officers who we spent time with may remember us with respect or even reverence - but that is in the far future. The trick now is to keep some form of relationship going for the next ten to twenty years.
There was another post on the state of the IA that complained about our culture - the way we have to quantify everything to the "umpteenth digit" I think was the quote. I wonder how much our own need for a quantifiable victory is hampering our ability to see that we have achieved a qualitative victory. This is particularly true as long as we try to use our military as the standard the IA has to live up to.
Good luck with your meetings. So far we are still in good graces with our IA partners. It might be because what we offer is technical assistance not related to security or governance. But I am just waiting for the tenor to change.
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