“Where’s the Army? Where’s your 25B.?”
In 2003 L. Paul Bremer was appointed head of the CPA in Iraq. The Coalition Provisional Authority’s first decree was to remove all Ba’athists from positions of government. That translated into removing all knowledgeable people from the system.
CPA Order Number 2 was to disband the 250,000 man Iraqi army. That single decision added 500,000 now angry, heavily-armed, men to the unemployment ranks.
Almost immediately Baghdad became one of the worst places in the world.
Following that sweeping move in May ’03 the United States began an attempt to build a new army in county. So far that effort has consumed many lives, 14 yeas, and more than $25,000,000.00 tax payers’ dollars. That’s 25 billion dollars.
Army building in another country means mixing troops. How do you vet individuals fast enough to build an army? And when the records are in Arabic? How about when we fire everyone knowledgeable with the Iraqi system?
American forces face armed opposition from both inside and out. Politicians who pose such orders do not bunk with the military.
How are troops expected to protect themselves from armed insiders they are ordered to aid?
In the recent military action to liberate Mosul from ISIS, Iraqi troops threw down their arms, abandoned their vehicles, and fled on foot.
The army building effort continues today. What is the United States’ responsibility to the people of Iraq? Is there one?
It’s your money. Are we investing wisely for America, and Americans? What do we have to show for this on-going effort? How much domestic progress can one buy with 25 billion?
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