In 2008, I had the privilege of briefing three of America’s top generals in Baghdad; Petraeus, Odierno and Austin. I also had to write two important political scripts for my three star commander. The first was an appeal to NATO Ambassadors to send more troops to Iraq as part of the multi-national mission to assist the Iraqi security forces deal with the ongoing insurgency. The second was an update for the visiting Congressional Delegation on what military equipment the Iraqi Government was buying.
This political delegation was cross-party and included some passionate patriots shepherded by a retired general who was involved in the 2003 Phase 4 (post-victory) operation. The civilian members of the delegation asked pertinent questions, but were clearly frustrated by some of the answers we gave. I recognised the same frustrations from a House of Commons Defence Inquiry into the UK response to 9/11. It all boiled over when the delegation was told that the Iraqi government had just bought a fleet of minesweepers from Malaysia rather than from an American contractor; at which point an apoplectic congressman said: “Don’t They Know They Owe Us?” The delegation simply could not understand why the vast majority of Iraqis were not grateful to the USA for removing their despotic leader and for bombing their country with shock and awe.
One of America’s greatest literary figures, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, once wrote that “History never repeats itself”. This may be true, but in the case of US wars in the Middle East, there is certainly a seamless pattern that borders on tessellation.
Rupert Wieloch 