[Texgreen] Failed war update

[Roger Baker]

The bottom line is that after sending hundreds of tons of cash to =20
Iraq under Bremer, Bush finally gets serious about spending the =20
shrinking cash available more wisely for reconstruction. Only because =20=

his military advisers say this aid is needed as a sweetener, to help =20
the Iraqi public accept the troop surge and prop up the Shia-=20
dominated puppet government we have installed as legitimate. Its a =20
part of the surge strategy.

But as the accounts below indicate, the experienced civilians in the =20
state department  don't want to become military targets, so they are =20
not volunteering. So Condoleeza Rice had the bright idea to tap the =20
Pentagon to fill the gap in project managers, which venture royally =20
pissed off Defense Secretary Robert Gates. But meanwhile the Joint =20
Chiefs are saying Bush's troop surge will fail unless this perplex is =20=

somehow resolved.

Leaving Mr. Bush between Iraq and a hard place ;^) -- Roger


                      =20
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The following link summarizes the big picture pretty well, with lots =20
of links within it:

<http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?=20
c=3DklLWJcP7H&b=3D1331575&ct=3D3532395>

"... After Bush announced his new strategy, Secretary of State =20
Condoleezza Rice told Congress, "All of us in the State Department =20
fully understand our role in this mission, and we are prepared to =20
play it. We are ready to strengthen, indeed to 'surge,' our civilian =20
efforts." But Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said recently that =20
Rice told him that her department "needed six months to locate and =20
prepare civil servants and contractors to send abroad. 'It is =20
illustrative of the difficulty of getting other agencies to provide =20
people on a timely basis,' Gates said." A large number of jobs that =20
need to be performed -- like engineers, lawyers, veterinarians, and =20
accountants -- should be carried out by civilians because the =20
military does not have personnel nor the expertise to perform them. =20
Senior military officers, including members of the Joint Chiefs of =20
Staff, have told Bush and Gates "that the new Iraq strategy could =20
fail unless more civilian agencies step forward quickly to carry out =20
plans for reconstruction and political development." But Rice has =20
been unable to rally the resources needed for the mission, as "many =20
federal employees have outright refused repeated requests that they =20
go to Iraq."..."

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<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/washington/08diplo.html?n=3DTop%=20
2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIraq>

"... Steve Kashkett, vice president of the American Foreign Service =20
Association, the professional organization that represents State =20
Department employees, said that =93our people continue to show great =20
courage in volunteering for duty in Iraq.=94 But Mr. Kashkett added, =20
=93there remain legitimate questions about the ability of unarmed =20
civilian diplomats to carry out a reconstruction and democracy-=20
building mission in the middle of an active war zone.=94

The issue flared this week when Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates =20
testified at a Senate hearing that he shared the concerns of officers =20=

who complained about a request from Ms. Rice=92s office that military =20=

personnel temporarily fill more than one-third of 350 new jobs in =20
Iraq that the State Department is supposed to be responsible for. The =20=

New York Times reported on Wednesday that senior military officials =20
were upset at the request and told President Bush and Mr. Gates that =20
the new Iraq strategy could fail unless more civilian agencies =20
stepped forward quickly to carry out plans for reconstruction and =20
political development.

David Satterfield, the State Department=92s senior adviser for Iraq, =20
told reporters during a teleconference that the State Department=92s =20
request was only for temporary help and for non-State Department =20
positions that would probably be filled by contractors anyway..."

                     =20
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<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/washington/07military.html?=20
_r=3D1&n=3DTop%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%=20
2fIraq&oref=3Dslogin>

"... At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Gates made clear that he =20
shared the officers=92 concerns, telling senators, =93If you were =20
troubled by the memo, that was mild compared to my reaction when I =20
saw it.=94

To back up his point, Mr. Gates also told senators that Mr. Bush =20
himself had addressed his cabinet at the White House on Monday about =20
the need for civilian agencies to =93step up to the task.=94

At one level, the conflict is a cultural clash between a military =20
that has ordered hundreds of thousands of troops to Iraq in the last =20
four years, and a Foreign Service that offers incentives for =20
civilians to work in war zones but cannot compel diplomats to accept =20
hardship assignments to places like Iraq.

Under Mr. Bush=92s strategy, the military is pushing more than 20,000 =20=

fresh troops to Baghdad to augment the American military force of =20
about 132,000 already in Iraq.

The State Department, leading an interagency effort, has been ordered =20=

to expand the provincial reconstruction teams in Baghdad and western =20
Anbar Province to accelerate political and economic development at =20
the local level.

Small teams of American personnel are to be placed inside Iraqi =20
ministries to make sure that $10 billion in Iraqi funds committed to =20
the effort are spent, and spent correctly.

The entire United States Foreign Service numbers only 6,000 people, =20
about the size of a military brigade.

In defense of the diplomats=92 role, David M. Satterfield, the State =20
Department=92s Iraq coordinator, told Congress in January that the =20
department=92s task in Iraq amounted to =93the largest presence of the =20=

foreign service in any country in the world,=94 including more than 140 =20=

Foreign Service officers in Baghdad and over 50 more in the existing =20
provincial reconstruction teams.

Last month, after Mr. Bush announced his new strategy, Ms. Rice told =20
Congress that the department was =93ready to strengthen, indeed to =20
=91surge,=92 our civilian efforts.=94

But Mr. Gates said Tuesday that Ms. Rice had told him that her =20
department needed six months to locate and prepare civil servants and =20=

contractors to send abroad. =93It is illustrative of the difficulty of =20=

getting other agencies to provide people on a timely basis,=94 Mr. =20
Gates said.

Members of the Joint Chiefs and commanders in Iraq have been =20
delivering the same message recently to the president and defense =20
secretary about the necessity for other parts of government to join =20
the effort, according to administration and military officials.

=93The chiefs have made that point, and repeatedly,=94 said one senior =20=

Bush administration official who, like others interviewed for this =20
article, spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal =20
discussions among the president, defense secretary, commanders in =20
Iraq and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The officials said the commanders had also been expressing broader =20
frustrations, including that the additional $1 billion in new money =20
for reconstruction requested by the president may not be sufficient.

They also fear that additional contractors may not be readily =20
available to assist, and that a large number of jobs that could be =20
performed by civilians =97 like engineers, lawyers, veterinarians and =20=

accountants =97 are still conducted by military personnel at a time =20
when the armed services are stretched thin.

The mounting tensions between the Pentagon and other departments are =20
in some ways the mirror image of those that roiled the government =20
before the 2003 invasion. Then, State Department officials grumbled =20
that the Pentagon was usurping its role in planning the postwar =20
civilian occupation; today, the military is eager to see others step =20
in..."=20=