.Coalition 'wasted chance' to help Iraq
BRITAIN and the United States blew their chances of successfully rebuilding Iraq because they went to war without making any plans for what they would do once Saddam Hussein was defeated, a senior British officer has admitted.
Brigadier Andrew Mackay, whose Royal Scots regiment is currently serving in Iraq, said the lack of planning was "self evident" and the people put in charge of post-war Iraq were "incapable" of carrying out their jobs. Due to their incompetence the coalition had wasted a year.
The brigadier, who was involved in the planning for the Bosnia campaign, said lessons had not been learnt from previous conflicts and the job was made even harder than it should have been because the coalition wasted a year before taking action to put right its mistakes.
But he said the situation could have been even worse than it is had steps not been taken to remedy the problems, and he argued against now rushing to withdraw British troops before the security situation had been stabilised.
Brigadier Mackay's revelation came as Tony Blair yesterday said that he would still have invaded Iraq even if he had known about the civil unrest and bloodshed that has since beset the country.
"I most certainly would, yes," the Prime Minister replied when asked if he would have taken the same decision had he known what was to follow.
Reports from reliable military sources in recent weeks have suggested that Britain and the US are considering withdrawing some, if not all, of their forces from Iraq this year because of the deteriorating security situation.
Last year, a leaked briefing paper prepared for Mr Blair and his advisers eight months before the invasion suggested that the US had not made adequate preparations for the post-war period. But Brigadier Mackay's revelations go further. He said conversations with other senior officers shortly before the war started revealed that nothing had been done to remedy the problems highlighted in the briefing paper.
"I think most people could figure out even then that it was not going to go as smoothly as we thought it would and clearly the absence of any planning for the post-conflict period was self evident," he said.
The brigadier, who spent nine months in Baghdad in 2004 working with US officials on reforming the Iraqi police force, said the coalition had missed "a real window of opportunity" in the immediate aftermath of the war to get Iraq back on its feet.
"I have no hesitation in saying we wasted the best part of a year because we didn't start it till two years ago. That made our job all the harder," he said.
"The bottom line is that there was an opportunity in the post-war period when we didn't maximise the opportunities we had. One of the things we should have done far more is the whole security sector reform piece and got on with something that was coherent and resourced instead of giving it to a bunch of individuals who were incapable of delivering the kind of change that was necessary."
Brigadier Mackay believes it would be unwise to start withdrawing coalition forces while the security situation remained unstable, or to consider cutting and running if it deteriorated further: "It is sensible to proceed [withdraw], but it is equally sensible to do it at a time where it doesn't lead to the situation getting even worse than the one you've handed over."
Scotsman
Now even I have to admit that the rats are jumping ship. It's every man for himself, save yourself if you can, run for the hill and all that.
Brigadier Andrew Mackay, whose Royal Scots regiment is currently serving in Iraq, said the lack of planning was "self evident" and the people put in charge of post-war Iraq were "incapable" of carrying out their jobs. Due to their incompetence the coalition had wasted a year.
The brigadier, who was involved in the planning for the Bosnia campaign, said lessons had not been learnt from previous conflicts and the job was made even harder than it should have been because the coalition wasted a year before taking action to put right its mistakes.
But he said the situation could have been even worse than it is had steps not been taken to remedy the problems, and he argued against now rushing to withdraw British troops before the security situation had been stabilised.
Brigadier Mackay's revelation came as Tony Blair yesterday said that he would still have invaded Iraq even if he had known about the civil unrest and bloodshed that has since beset the country.
"I most certainly would, yes," the Prime Minister replied when asked if he would have taken the same decision had he known what was to follow.
Reports from reliable military sources in recent weeks have suggested that Britain and the US are considering withdrawing some, if not all, of their forces from Iraq this year because of the deteriorating security situation.
Last year, a leaked briefing paper prepared for Mr Blair and his advisers eight months before the invasion suggested that the US had not made adequate preparations for the post-war period. But Brigadier Mackay's revelations go further. He said conversations with other senior officers shortly before the war started revealed that nothing had been done to remedy the problems highlighted in the briefing paper.
"I think most people could figure out even then that it was not going to go as smoothly as we thought it would and clearly the absence of any planning for the post-conflict period was self evident," he said.
The brigadier, who spent nine months in Baghdad in 2004 working with US officials on reforming the Iraqi police force, said the coalition had missed "a real window of opportunity" in the immediate aftermath of the war to get Iraq back on its feet.
"I have no hesitation in saying we wasted the best part of a year because we didn't start it till two years ago. That made our job all the harder," he said.
"The bottom line is that there was an opportunity in the post-war period when we didn't maximise the opportunities we had. One of the things we should have done far more is the whole security sector reform piece and got on with something that was coherent and resourced instead of giving it to a bunch of individuals who were incapable of delivering the kind of change that was necessary."
Brigadier Mackay believes it would be unwise to start withdrawing coalition forces while the security situation remained unstable, or to consider cutting and running if it deteriorated further: "It is sensible to proceed [withdraw], but it is equally sensible to do it at a time where it doesn't lead to the situation getting even worse than the one you've handed over."
Scotsman
Now even I have to admit that the rats are jumping ship. It's every man for himself, save yourself if you can, run for the hill and all that.
posted by madtom at 2:40 PM
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