Boredom: A By-Product of Victory...

We continue to grow into our role here, and it is a sociology project to watch people adjust to their 2011 surroundings when their frame of reference is 2006 or 2007. Iraq has changed a lot, and some have a difficult time with that. The tactics have changed, and the second and third order effects of actions are now significantly greater than what they were in the past.

There just isn't a great amount to do, because of the capability of the Iraqi forces, and also because the security agreement signed between US and Iraqi forces puts the Iraqis in the lead, which is fantastic. As mentioned before, sure- stuff blows up from time to time, but it is an acceptable level of violence as the Iraqi forms of politics, law enforcement, and self expression evolve. The Iraqis handle issues in their own way and have grown into their authority. I continue to think this is good.

The by-product of this is an obsessive-compulsive Army that is bent on fixing things that aren't really broken, driven to leave a lasting impression and have a positive impact on a force that has had its share of mentoring, and quite frankly, in my assessment, ready for us to leave.

I heard a good analogy the other day: The US Army is great at fixing things and solving problems. Our problem is we don't know how to stop.

We stay because of what might happen: There are still potential for bad things to happen, still bad people here, but I am not sure the US Army is the best tool that can fix those things. And again-- we can continue to fix problems, but there has to be a GICOL (Good Idea CutOff Line) where it is time for other instruments of US and regional power (State Department, Arab League, OPEC) to step in and make Iraq what it will be. I have no idea what this will look like, and I don't think anyone else has an idea either. But I think we are close to that line for US forces, and it will be interesting -almost fun- to see it evolve.

The good thing about it is it gives Soldiers a break, it gives us a chance to take care of some guys, do some training, and catch our breath before we eventually move out of here.

Stay tuned.
Ron