Feature
BAGHDAD JOURNAL
No admitting the obvious
by Phil Bloom
October 2004
This question has been turning over and over in my mind for months. Why? What went wrong? Where was the plan of action to change Iraq? Let's start with the first question, Why?
When the US rushed to form a coalition it used the WMD rationale. It stated many times that getting rid of Saddam Hussein would bring an end to his programme to hurt the world. The moment this was done, the exact time the statue fell, that precise moment is when it all started going wrong. First, no security was provided. We let looters run rampant throughout the country. We watched on television and did nothing. Then, in a move designed to hurt all Baathists, we dismembered the bureaucracy at all levels, civilian and military. In so doing we disrupted the flow of services and security to the country. Now someone in Washington admits ''we made a mistake.'' How could you make such a huge blunder? How could you rip apart the fabric of society, then feebly try to rebuild it with inexperienced personnel? Just look around and it is obvious that the new Iraqi army recruits are not ready to fight the fight, let alone walk the walk.
The plan of action was simple - remove Saddam and his henchmen - and issue a deck of cards with 52 wanted Baath party members. This was it. There was no plan; there were words coming from exiled Iraqis who wanted to plunder the assets of the country and do it with the tacit approval of the coalition. Another year passed and finally Wolfowitz cut off funding for Ahmed Chalabi and his group. It only took a year. Can you imagine the red faces in DC and London? Or maybe they don't see it as a problem.
A little over a year later and the violence is worse than ever. A civilian curfew has been declared. Most recently, atrocities are taking place every day, and no part of the country is safe. It's unnerving for everyone trying to work in Iraq. There is a cross fire between the insurgents led by Iran and the Americans caught in an election year battle, who run around with guns one day and stretchers the next. Which is worse? You decide. But one thing is for sure: there was never any plan, and there still isn't one.