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11/02/2003 Archived Entry: "Hey! I got an idea..."
Hey! I got an idea...
The boneheads that work for Paul/Jerry Bremer are the ones who dismantled the Iraqi Army. They swore it was the right thing to do. So, six months later, what do they want to do? Why, put the Iraqi Army back together, of course....
Some American military officers in Iraq are pressing to reconstitute entire units of the former Iraqi Army, which the top United States administrator in Baghdad disbanded in May. They say the change would speed the creation of a new army and stabilize the nation. Proposals under consideration would involve identifying former Iraqi officers and weeding out any still loyal to Saddam Hussein. Those who pass the vetting could then track down the troops who had served under them in order to re-assemble complete companies and battalions rapidly.
"We feel we could contact a midlevel officer — say, the rank of captain or major — who knows where all the members of his unit are today," said a senior military officer at the occupation's military headquarters in Baghdad.
The talks are at an early stage and do not represent an actual plan. At a news conference in Baghdad on Saturday, the American administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, spoke merely of the need to welcome back former members of the Iraqi Army into the small replacement army now being formed.
But the talks tacitly acknowledge that some officers view Mr. Bremer's decision to dismantle the defeated 500,000-member Iraqi Army as a mistake, one that has contributed to the instability and increasing attacks against United States forces in Iraq.
Now, this is a transparent attempt to get more Iraqis in military unis, so that we can bring some of our own boys and girls home. Besides being utterly predictable, it raises a problem.
What happens when there are more Iraqis carrying rifles in Iraq than there are Americans? After all, these guys were the enemy, and they were summarily dismissed without pay earlier this year.
Doesn't anybody realize that there could be a devastating act of revenge waiting down the road? Or am I the only one who thinks these things?
Replies: 3 people speak up
I seem to recall reading recently about a deputy mayor being warned not to help the occupation forces, and then getting gunned down in a cafe in Baghdad.
If they don't realize (and admit!) that the junta has totally screwed up the situation by now, and that we are up against a people united, after the results of these actions have already been shown to us, then what do you think we can do to get it into their heads that Bx43 must go?
Posted by (: Tom :) @ 11/02/2003 08:11 AM NY
When the occupation began six months ago, didn't Lt. Gen. Jay Garner advise Rumsfeld to keep the Iraqi army intact? Wasn't Garner over-ruled and later dismissed in favor of the much-hyped Bremer.
You remember Bremer, don't you? He's the guy running around Iraq in a suit and tie. Didn't anyone tell this guy that he's not going to a business meeting?
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 11/02/2003 09:32 AM NY
This situation in Iraq reminds me of that children's nursery rhyme
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a GREAT FALL
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Humpty back together again
This situation with the army confirms that these are deperate actions by desperate leaders indeed. Time is running out!
Posted by emal @ 11/02/2003 10:57 AM NY
