"Wising Up in Iraq"

Margaret calls my attention to this article by Ralph Peters in the New York Post, yesterday:

WHILE our occupation of Iraq is going vastly better than the media suggests, there is certainly room for improvement. But doing a better job requires taking unpopular measures and weathering the inevitable criticism from those who, never having done anything themselves, always know better what everyone else should do.

First, we need to stop pandering to the Sunni-Arab minority that spawns terror and revels in atrocity. Aspects of our occupation policy have been naively one-sided - all carrot, no stick....

A second, related step in building a just Iraq would be to recognize Kurdish rights to the oil fields of northern Iraq. They should be guarded by Kurds, worked by Kurds and managed by Kurds, even if the profits continue to be shared for now. It's absolute folly to allow the disgruntled Sunni Arabs any control over Iraq's prime resource just because Saddam gave it to them.

Third, the "Iraqification" of security affairs is not just smart, it's essential. But it has to be done methodically, not in a pre-election rush....

Fourth, as this column consistently has argued, we need to make alternative plans for Iraq in case attempts to build an integrated democracy fail....

Which brings us to the fifth and final point: Although the current situation suggests that a much better Iraq will emerge from the wreckage of the old order, we won't always have the resources or the right environment for the occupation of states whose regimes we need to defeat....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Thu. 11/06/03 06:54:20 AM
Categorized as War.