Rant: The Bush Wars

The reason we failed so badly in Iraq, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, is because our war-fighting techniques were antiquated. The army model that was pre-9/11/2001 was grossly unprepared for the challenges that faced us in the Middle East. As a soldier and NCO in the Army pre-2001 I can vouch for the inadequacy of our army before we started fighting in the Middle East. It was like Desert Storm taught us nothing. Even though we were in a post-Gulf War world, our toughest divisions in 18th Airborne Corp were still training in a European climate in decidous forests. We were frightenly unprepared for the war that knocked on our door on September 11, 2001. The ones who would be doing most of the infantry work were training in a temperature and in a climate inappropriate for what was coming. Not to say that is the army’s fault because two Balkan engagements were dictating the war-fighting style of the late 90’s.

Although Bosnia and Kosovo were fought in a post-Soviet engagement, it didn’t teach us the lesson of diversifying. Very few bases were in desert climates, and we weren’t taking advantage of America’s deserts. I imagine that politicians may have helped on this one. Army bases mean community money. So you can imagine that base location hasn’t much to do with world events as much as they are about politics and horse-trading. I guess that’s a mistake we pay for after we’re in war. These were mistakes that George W. Bush and his administration could have caught before casting us into two wars.

The problem with neoconservatives was their visions of Reagan Era wars. Quick and easy: Grenada, Beirut, Panama; all of them were quick wars. If you look at the strategy of Iraq and Afghanistan, we thought we were going to dance into those countries, sweep out the bad guy, and everyone would put us on their shoulders and chant, “USA! USA!” Didn’t it seem that way after we overthrew Saddam Hussein? Remember Mission Accomplished? Nobody had a clue.

How strange it was after allowing the burning and looting of most government facilities and disbanding the army that we might have to stay a year or two later than expected. Americans aren’t nation-builders, we’re terrible at that. For an isolated superpower away from Europe and Asia, we are not so good at nation building.

We replaced a dictatorship that had no experience with democracy. Iraq had been ruled by one body or another for at least two or three generations. Germany and Japan, after World War II returned to their pre-Depression forms of government and they worked. Both countries became wealthy. What was Iraq going to return to? What about Afghanistan?

The saddest part about all of this is what Iraq could be today. Even if we had still invaded, but did it right. If government facilities could have been populated, and civil servants kept, public goods would have been working. This would have allowed business to expand, and this oil boom would have been a boon to Iraq. As The Economist noted, although Iraq has the second largest reserve in the world, they are woeful under capacity when it comes to barrels pumped. Today could have been better for Iraq. Unfortunately, an unprepared army executing an equally unprepared policy, took us to where we are today. Things could have been better, too bad.