How do you define progress and what's the calendar measure that shows good enough is good enough?
Reflections in the media, intelligence from bad guys, theories by higher entities and discussions with peers all indicate progress:
**Helped the Iraqis get rid of an old Iraqi chemical rocket that was making people sick far north of here recently in Halabcha. The rocket was fired by Saddam's army against the Kurdish people in 1983 or so. The locals found it and they asked for help.
**Bad guys claim we are bringing poisonous snakes and alligators to southern Iraq. Cobras, in fact. They also allege we are attacking ourselves to create an artifical threat as an excuse to stay. Has it come to this? Is this the best insurgents have to offer now? What's next, momma jokes? Nope, sorry-- not us. We're packing up, unless you ask us to stay, but you have to ask. After all-- it's your country (which we helped you build, saved once from an ugly civil war, then gave back to you. Again.)
**For the month of August, Iraq pumped 68 million barrels of oil worth $7 billion. Money went to the Government. Provinces are passing budgets filled with civil works projects and stuff is getting built. Is there still corruption? Yep. But have you looked at our own campaign financing or our banking industry lately?
**Sadr and other insurgent groups spout hate against the US and disgruntlement against the Government of Iraq over the internet. Television and print media is also openly critical of the Government. Prior to the US invasion, comments against the government got you 'disappeared.' Today Sadr stokes the fire against the force that gave him the freedom and the mechanism to express discord against the government, and you could link the Arab Spring of grassroots revolutions to demand accountability of governments to events in Iraq. (Granted, it's a stretch.)
**When I took this job, everyone said 'don't get sucked into Maysan.' Maysan has a very strong Iranian influence, and lots of the accelerants that get used in Iraq come by way of Maysan. Provincial governor and police forces there are openly anti-US. We got sucked in anyway. And after a lot of swinging, influencing, and cajoling, we helped orchestrate bad things happening to bad people. The tide turned (with no doubt a lot of additional political haggling on a level I'll never understand). Our efforts there aren't by any means the sole reason for progerss there, but things are moving in a positive direction at the hands of Iraqis.
**Oh yeah- we got rid of a dictator who killed lots of people indiscriminately.
Don't get me wrong-- the place is still a dump full of crazy, and it has a long way to go. But it's a dump with potential. Extremism isn't dead-- but is it extremism or just political activism done the only way they know how? Sometimes our eye for progress is short sighted, and if this thing works, Iraq is on the road to be a major stakeholder in the next 10 years.
Will we stay or go? Dunno. But we're running out of time, and sometimes not making a decision is deciding.
The clock ticks on...
Ron
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
10 Years: On the Soap Box Again
Everyone easily remembers where they were that day and what happened. And today, 10 years later, we recall the event, attend ceremonies, and watch tributes on TV, sporting event tributes as well.
Tributes are nice, but I struggle with how to react to those. On one hand, it's nice folks take the time out of their busy Sunday at the football game, where they paid a lot of money to see a bunch of guys who get paid LOTS of money to play a game, and idolize them along the way. I stole a post about this a couple of months ago, about how we are paying tribute to the wrong heroes. Kids today aspire to be sports stars, reality TV 'heroes,' celebrities. My point is while these ceremonies are nice, they are still about us and our self-centeredness, highlighting how 'we' feel, as opposed to events or opportunities where people can truly do good and help each other, or make a difference.
Our security at local, state, and national level is outsourced. We expect fire, rescue, police, FEMA, "The Government," and national security elements to take care of us and be there all the time, and when they aren't, we immediately look for someone to blame. After all-- we are ENTITLED! We make ourselves feel better by telling the 1% of the nation who serve "thanks for your service," but when asked if they or their sons and daughters would ever consider joining the military they react adversely, "oh no, not my child-- they are too good for that/it's too dangerous/my child deserves bigger and better things/plenty of others will do it" (actual statements told to me by parents when I worked recruiting events as an ROTC instructor). While it's great to be appreciated, the nation needs people to step up on many levels for our society to truly be great. When local, state, and federal government fail to meet our expectations, our first instinct is to shirk personal responsibility as opposed to getting involved and attempting to fix the problem. "I don't have time-- Real Housewives of New Jersey is on..."
We can name the athletes on our our fantasy football team, Who's on the Hills, and who the last American Idol was, but most of America can't name one Medal of Honor recipient- dead or alive. Most don't know their US representation in congress-- we're ok with complaining about "them" but I'd argue most don't know who "them" are. They have nice pensions, though.
In the 10 years since the planes crashed, there have been lots of unknowns, busy days and nights, lots of time away from home and family. Some have given much more, including lives and body parts, and they continue to do so. In the end, efforts prevailed, and Osama is dead. Saying thanks is nice, but instead of just going to a ceremony, or taking a moment of silence, make an extra effort-- Donate to the USO, the Wounded Warrior Project, The Fischer House, or your local fire or police charity. Teach your kids to get involved in Government, and know what is going on, more than what's covered on CNN. A free society comes with responsibility.
While this is extreme, I am proud of my country, and I think people are genuinely good. I still get goosebumps at Taps, and I still get a tear at the hearing of the national anthem. If we could get America to do that, I think most of those who serve would tell you it would all truly be worth the sacrifices.
Cheers to those we lost that day, and those we have lost since then making it right.
Ron
Tributes are nice, but I struggle with how to react to those. On one hand, it's nice folks take the time out of their busy Sunday at the football game, where they paid a lot of money to see a bunch of guys who get paid LOTS of money to play a game, and idolize them along the way. I stole a post about this a couple of months ago, about how we are paying tribute to the wrong heroes. Kids today aspire to be sports stars, reality TV 'heroes,' celebrities. My point is while these ceremonies are nice, they are still about us and our self-centeredness, highlighting how 'we' feel, as opposed to events or opportunities where people can truly do good and help each other, or make a difference.
Our security at local, state, and national level is outsourced. We expect fire, rescue, police, FEMA, "The Government," and national security elements to take care of us and be there all the time, and when they aren't, we immediately look for someone to blame. After all-- we are ENTITLED! We make ourselves feel better by telling the 1% of the nation who serve "thanks for your service," but when asked if they or their sons and daughters would ever consider joining the military they react adversely, "oh no, not my child-- they are too good for that/it's too dangerous/my child deserves bigger and better things/plenty of others will do it" (actual statements told to me by parents when I worked recruiting events as an ROTC instructor). While it's great to be appreciated, the nation needs people to step up on many levels for our society to truly be great. When local, state, and federal government fail to meet our expectations, our first instinct is to shirk personal responsibility as opposed to getting involved and attempting to fix the problem. "I don't have time-- Real Housewives of New Jersey is on..."
We can name the athletes on our our fantasy football team, Who's on the Hills, and who the last American Idol was, but most of America can't name one Medal of Honor recipient- dead or alive. Most don't know their US representation in congress-- we're ok with complaining about "them" but I'd argue most don't know who "them" are. They have nice pensions, though.
In the 10 years since the planes crashed, there have been lots of unknowns, busy days and nights, lots of time away from home and family. Some have given much more, including lives and body parts, and they continue to do so. In the end, efforts prevailed, and Osama is dead. Saying thanks is nice, but instead of just going to a ceremony, or taking a moment of silence, make an extra effort-- Donate to the USO, the Wounded Warrior Project, The Fischer House, or your local fire or police charity. Teach your kids to get involved in Government, and know what is going on, more than what's covered on CNN. A free society comes with responsibility.
While this is extreme, I am proud of my country, and I think people are genuinely good. I still get goosebumps at Taps, and I still get a tear at the hearing of the national anthem. If we could get America to do that, I think most of those who serve would tell you it would all truly be worth the sacrifices.
Cheers to those we lost that day, and those we have lost since then making it right.
Ron
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
3000
3000 is the number being tossed around in the media concerning a residual force to remain in Iraq past 31 December, at least as of yesterday. This is in contrast to statements made by Prime Minister Maliki, who has said zero means zero, and all US forces must leave.
It seems our National Command Authority has a communications problem, as today they were backpedalling and stated that wasn't the official number. Wonder if we asked the Iraqis.
Regardless, our limbo continues, although we think we have a pretty good idea what the future means for us. Just no one has told us for sure yet.
This link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=michael%20schmidt&st=cse is a story about the month of August, where we didn't lose a single Soldier. It is moderately accurate. Granted, Ramadan helped us out, but we are seeing the positive effects of a couple of months of hard work. The bad guys helped out, too, but we'll take it. We are somewhat wondering what caused the switch, but we're ok with the results.
The 3000 number and the insistence to stay reminds me of a quote I think I mentioned earlier in the blog a couple of months ago. A Squadron Commander noted over dinner one night that Americans are great at starting things and getting things done. Americans fix things; it's in our nature to try to keep making things better. We are, however, horrible at stopping, and quite frankly we're not really good at figuring out what we want things to look like when we think we are done with them. We just keep fixing stuff.
Sorry for the lack of update. Should have some better stuff to write about as this thing winds down, at least for us.
Ron
It seems our National Command Authority has a communications problem, as today they were backpedalling and stated that wasn't the official number. Wonder if we asked the Iraqis.
Regardless, our limbo continues, although we think we have a pretty good idea what the future means for us. Just no one has told us for sure yet.
This link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=michael%20schmidt&st=cse is a story about the month of August, where we didn't lose a single Soldier. It is moderately accurate. Granted, Ramadan helped us out, but we are seeing the positive effects of a couple of months of hard work. The bad guys helped out, too, but we'll take it. We are somewhat wondering what caused the switch, but we're ok with the results.
The 3000 number and the insistence to stay reminds me of a quote I think I mentioned earlier in the blog a couple of months ago. A Squadron Commander noted over dinner one night that Americans are great at starting things and getting things done. Americans fix things; it's in our nature to try to keep making things better. We are, however, horrible at stopping, and quite frankly we're not really good at figuring out what we want things to look like when we think we are done with them. We just keep fixing stuff.
Sorry for the lack of update. Should have some better stuff to write about as this thing winds down, at least for us.
Ron
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