Thoughts of an Iraq combat vet.

From Daily KOS:

In the aftermath of September 11, New York native Paul Rieckhoff volunteered to carry the fight to Al Qaeda. In 2003 he found himself instead sitting on a chartered military transport as the commander of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, destined for Iraq; which is where the book, and this interview, begin.

DarkSyde (DS): The first chapter of Chasing Ghosts is called "George Bush Had Better Be Fucking Right." Was he?

Lieutenant Paul Rieckhoff (Lt. PR): No. Not even close. I wrote that line in my journal sitting on the plane on the way to Iraq. In 2003, President Bush bet the house on the mother of all poker games. And in the end, he didn't have the cards to back it up. He was wrong on just about every single issue having to do with the war in Iraq from the existence of WMD, to the proper number of troops, to the strength and scope of the insurgency. And America will be paying for it for decades.

[...]

DS: What do you think our general strategy should be in Iraq going forward?

Lt. PR: It is all about damage control and the outlook is not good. The stakes are higher than most people realize. A regional war is now a very real possibility. There are no easy ways out, or silver bullet solutions. Recognize that Iraq is a mess that we'll be paying down for decades--if not longer. Level with the American people. We have pissed off most of the world--and are in a very bad position now. But the Middle East is the monster we have created, and cannot walk away without consequences. We can not abandon Iraq, and we can not ignore Iran. It is time for the US to start practicing geopolitical triage. We need a plan that ensures America's national security--one that addresses Al Qaeda first, and Iran second, and Iraq third (or even lower).

Here is a quick (and incomplete) back of the napkin plan: Fire Rumsfeld. Start drawing down on Iraq--with a timetable of some kind (at least a ballpark). Increase the size of the military. Start talking to Iran and North Korea (it can't hurt at this point). Refocus efforts on domestic security, intelligence gathering and international cooperation. Hold open hearings on the failures of the war. Demand investigations into waste, fraud and the role of contractors. Implement the recommendations of the 9/11 committee.

The Iraq War is not the most important fight of the 21st century (as the President seems to think). But figuring out how to fix the problems created by the Iraq War might be.

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