http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_4631781
An alternative strategy for Iraq
By John Batiste
Article Last Updated:11/09/2006 05:23:08 PM MST
Iraq is a failed state created by the United States. Our senior
leadership did this to Iraq, to ourselves and to our allies. America is
losing a battalion's worth of dead and wounded Americans (as many as 800
men and women) every month and spending up to $2 billion a week on a
failed strategy. We are hemorrhaging our national treasure in blood and
dollars without anything of relevance to show for it.
The Bush administration continues to get the strategy wrong and to
understate the magnitude of the task in Iraq. Most congressional
Democrats do not recognize the gravity of the threat, and their
Republican counterparts long ago abrogated their constitutional
responsibility to oversee the executive branch. Congress has allowed the
administration to fight what has essentially been a secret war and to
deceive all of us about its supposed causes, progress and cost.
If we permit this to continue, we will guarantee that we fail.
Victory will require the kind of leadership, sacrifice and commitment
that Americans have not demonstrated since World War II.
Our national security is at stake, and it is past time for change.
Failure in Iraq would doom the Middle East to a wider conflict that
would pit Sunni Muslims against Shiites; Kurds against Arabs, Turks and
Iranians; nation against nation and ultimately threaten Israel. Failure
would injure the United States in ways that we cannot fathom, and in the
end it would cost far more than it would to save Iraq.
It is not too late, however. Victory is nonnegotiable, and we must
finish what we started in Iraq with new leadership and a new strategy.
We no longer can fight this war on the cheap.
There is only one rational solution: Employ a bold new strategy to
change the dynamics on the ground in Iraq as quickly as possible. Allow
me to offer an alternative strategy and way ahead for debate in the days
and weeks ahead.
1. Fix Iraq's huge unemployment problem. Since America cannot
increase troop strength in Iraq fast enough, the only alternative is to
deny the insurgents an enormous manpower pool by drafting large numbers
of combat-age Iraqi men into national service and paying them attractive
wages.
The vast majority of insurgents are not hard-core ideologues, but
unemployed Iraqis desperate to support and protect their families.
Devise a draft system that tribal sheiks support, and which screens and
enlists large numbers to serve their country either in the military or
in jobs programs designed to put the country back together. Victory is
inextricably linked to the rule of law, jobs, dignity, changing
attitudes, improving the quality of life and giving the Iraqi people
alternatives to the insurgency.
2. Give tribal sheiks incentives to be part of the solution. This
will encourage them to cooperate with the Iraqi government at a price
that pales in comparison to the amount of money we are wasting today.
Recognize that the sheiks wield enormous influence, and that an Iraqi
identifies first with his or her tribe, then ethnic origin (Arab or
Kurd), then religion (Sunni or Shiite). Iraqis may or may not ever have
an Iraqi national identity, so the tribal structure must play a major
role in whatever form Iraqi representative government takes.
3. Secure the borders with Iran and Syria and stop the flow of
support to the insurgency from both countries. Consider recruiting a
special border security force of 100,000 or more by hiring ex-military
from NATO contributing nations and/or give the Saudis, Jordanians and
Egyptians, who already have an enormous stake in stabilizing Iraq,
incentives to provide forces. The rule of law can never take root in
Iraq until its borders are secure.
4. Get serious about standing up the Iraqi security forces. This is
our No. 1 challenge in Iraq; we must embrace it as our main effort. Any
Iraqi government will necessarily depend for its survival upon its own
security forces and the rule of law. Pour into the Iraqi army, police
and border security forces the right quantity of resources so they can
fight the insurgency on a level playing field. Select our very best
officers and noncommissioned officers to embed with Iraqi security
forces and equip the Iraqis to succeed with everything they need,
including armored vehicles, heavy weapons, ammunition, and most
importantly, unity of effort.
5. Until the Iraqi security forces can take control, get a
sufficient number of coalition troops into Iraq to establish security as
a precursor to the rule of law. Tens of thousands additional coalition
troops may be required. There can be no sanctuary for terrorists and
militias in Iraq, and the practice of shifting forces from one province
to another does not work and defies counter-insurgency doctrine. For
nearly four years, the myth of Sisyphus has played out over and over in
Iraq.
6. Federalize Iraq and help the Iraqis construct their own form of
representative government. The current European parliamentary model that
the CPA imposed on Iraq is not working. Devise a federal system with
three regions with preconditions designed to influence behavior. Empower
the central government, among other things, to collect taxes, distribute
oil revenue, and provide for the common defense. Iraq needs a
representative government that takes into account the tribal, ethnic and
religious complexities that have defined the land for centuries. Accept
the fact that the Iraqi structure is not likely to resemble our
democracy in any way, shape or form.
7. Deal with the militias. Provide incentives to encourage militias
to disband and become part of the solution, or crush them. The likes of
Moqtada al-Sadr cannot be allowed to dictate policy or undermine the
rule of law.
8. Engage with both friendly and unfriendly governments to get Iraq
under control and to strengthen and build coalitions of the willing.
Dialogue is fundamental, and we must engage with all countries,
including Iran and Syria. Work to open diplomatic missions in both
countries. We must get closer to our enemies.
9. Finally, mobilize the United States. Put our government on a
wartime footing. Consider alternative ways to finance the war with
rationing programs and fuel surcharges. Our leaders need to step up and
explain the "what, why, how long and what it will cost" to each and
every one of us.
Properly resource our great military in force structure and
dollars. Our high-performing Army and Marine Corps are far too small for
our national strategy. They are at a breaking point, and they no longer
are in a position to respond to other worldwide contingencies. Indeed, a
draft may be required in order to win a protracted war on terror.
Fix the interagency process, which is seriously dysfunctional. We
must insist upon unity of effort with all departments of the U.S.
government fully engaged, united and committed to win. The United States
deserves a "team of rivals," the kind that Abraham Lincoln once
assembled, to devise a new and winning strategy.
Fully resource the Veterans Administration to care for our
returning wounded veterans properly. Set the United States on a path to
develop alternative sources of fuel within the next five years. There is
no reason why America should remain dependent on foreign oil. This is
all about leadership.
Victory against the jihadists is the most important issue of our
time. Victory in Iraq is now a crucial component in this war. The war in
Iraq must be above partisan politics if America is to win the war on
terror, prevent a meltdown of the Middle East and prevent a catastrophic
WMD attack on our homeland. We owe this to our incredible military,
their families, our nation and ourselves.
---
Maj. Gen. John Batiste (retired) commanded the Army's First
Infantry Division, both in Iraq and in Kosovo. Before that, he was the
senior military assistant to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul
Wolfowitz. He's now president of Klein Steel Services in Rochester, N.Y.
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