McCain's quote from above: “The problem is that when we left, there was a vacuum. Maliki decided to control the armed services. He fired all of his good people and hollowed out the army and then we had this consequence ... of, really, a collapse,” McCain, R-Ariz., said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“So, we’ll have to start all over, I think, on training the Iraqi military and have a kind of a change in attitude on the part of the Iraqis that makes them understand the importance of good leadership and good training and that’s going to take, by the way, some American trainers.”
What's stunning about McCain's remark is that he seems to forget how we initiated the hollowing out of the Iraqi army with de-Ba'athification. To wit: "Specifically, the Iraqi military was affected by Order No. 2. The Order called for the complete dissolution of the Iraqi military, and reportedly resulted in the unemployment and loss of pensions of approximately 500,000 individuals. The figures regarding this level of unemployment are approximately 27%. Many critics argue that this order specifically spurred the development of an armed insurgency."
More: The security impact of the de-Ba'athification policy and the Order No. 2 disbanding the military were devastating in terms of their security impact. One of the most senior military officials in the United States, Admiral Mike Mullen states that the de-Ba'athification policy coupled with the disbanding of the Iraqi military created security problems, and unnecessary sectarian tension. The Admiral stated that that Iraqi military could have been used to help secure the country more quickly, but instead its disbandment contributed to the overall decay in security. Other observers of the Iraq War conclude that the disbandment of the Iraqi military, coupled with de-Ba'athification fueled, if not created the insurgency against Coalition Forces.
Growth of insurgency:
Most sources regarding the Iraq War generally agree that CPA policies, such as de-Ba’athification and CPA Order Number 2 disbanding the Iraqi military and other security apparatuses exacerbated or created the insurgency in Iraq. Supporting this view is Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s conversation with a former soldier in the Iraqi Army:
Chandrasekaran: "What happened to everyone there? Did they join the new army?"
Soldier: "They’re all insurgents now. Bremer lost his chance."
This quote also reveals that the insurgency was not only a means of expressing anger at a Coalition occupation of Iraq, but also motivated by economic and employment necessities. With thousands of ostracized Ba’ath Party members and hundreds of thousands of soldiers rendered unemployed, joining the insurgency could provide a means to a monthly income to provide for one’s family "in a land bereft of jobs."
One of the other reasons for the growth of a specifically Sunni insurgency was the fact that they felt alienated by the de-Ba’athfication policy and saw the insurgency as a means of retaliation. Additionally, Chandrasekaran cited the CPA's inability to adequately provide services as a motivation for individuals to join the insurgency in order to retaliate against the power perceived as responsible for their plight."
[Quoted from Wikipedia article on De-Ba'athification]
But it's all on Maliki? Right . . .
From Vietnam onward, we never fucking learn -- McCain, it seems, especially.
“So, we’ll have to start all over, I think, on training the Iraqi military and have a kind of a change in attitude on the part of the Iraqis that makes them understand the importance of good leadership and good training and that’s going to take, by the way, some American trainers.”
What's stunning about McCain's remark is that he seems to forget how we initiated the hollowing out of the Iraqi army with de-Ba'athification. To wit: "Specifically, the Iraqi military was affected by Order No. 2. The Order called for the complete dissolution of the Iraqi military, and reportedly resulted in the unemployment and loss of pensions of approximately 500,000 individuals. The figures regarding this level of unemployment are approximately 27%. Many critics argue that this order specifically spurred the development of an armed insurgency."
More: The security impact of the de-Ba'athification policy and the Order No. 2 disbanding the military were devastating in terms of their security impact. One of the most senior military officials in the United States, Admiral Mike Mullen states that the de-Ba'athification policy coupled with the disbanding of the Iraqi military created security problems, and unnecessary sectarian tension. The Admiral stated that that Iraqi military could have been used to help secure the country more quickly, but instead its disbandment contributed to the overall decay in security. Other observers of the Iraq War conclude that the disbandment of the Iraqi military, coupled with de-Ba'athification fueled, if not created the insurgency against Coalition Forces.
Growth of insurgency:
Most sources regarding the Iraq War generally agree that CPA policies, such as de-Ba’athification and CPA Order Number 2 disbanding the Iraqi military and other security apparatuses exacerbated or created the insurgency in Iraq. Supporting this view is Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s conversation with a former soldier in the Iraqi Army:
Chandrasekaran: "What happened to everyone there? Did they join the new army?"
Soldier: "They’re all insurgents now. Bremer lost his chance."
This quote also reveals that the insurgency was not only a means of expressing anger at a Coalition occupation of Iraq, but also motivated by economic and employment necessities. With thousands of ostracized Ba’ath Party members and hundreds of thousands of soldiers rendered unemployed, joining the insurgency could provide a means to a monthly income to provide for one’s family "in a land bereft of jobs."
One of the other reasons for the growth of a specifically Sunni insurgency was the fact that they felt alienated by the de-Ba’athfication policy and saw the insurgency as a means of retaliation. Additionally, Chandrasekaran cited the CPA's inability to adequately provide services as a motivation for individuals to join the insurgency in order to retaliate against the power perceived as responsible for their plight."
[Quoted from Wikipedia article on De-Ba'athification]
But it's all on Maliki? Right . . .
From Vietnam onward, we never fucking learn -- McCain, it seems, especially.
