SWJ Odds and Ends

SWJ participated in this roundtable today along with Andrew Lubin of US Cav On Point, Grim of Blackfive, David Axe of Aviation Week Group and Bruce McQuain of QandO. Issues discussed included Iraqi Security Forces capabilities to operate "without the Marines", the future integration of local forces with national ISF, other "desired capabilities", fire-support trends in Anbar, Measures of Effectiveness, role and effectiveness of the MRAP, national reconciliation compared with "local trends" and company-level intelligence cells. The roundtable audio recording, transcript and Col. Simcock's biography can be found at DoD's Bloggers Roundtable page.

Grim had special praise for RCT 6's Blog... And Col Simcock had praise for Blackfive's RCT 6 e-mail campaign. Job well done all around.

Let me just say one thing about the e-mails. The response on that was tremendous. It was -- it literally -- it overwhelmed our systems over here. Within about -- I think it was two weeks, we had like 30,000 e-mails that came to us in support, and I would just like to say, we actually had to stop them because they were overwhelming our system, and we had to put them on a -- you know, refer them to our webpage.

If you can, I would appreciate you doing anything to thank the people for all their support that they gave us. The Marines over here really do appreciate that; that's something sometimes that gets lost.

They -- as I said, they watch the news over here, and a lot of times they seem to think that, you know, the people in the United States are not supporting what we're doing over here. Nothing, you know, based on the amount of replies we got back, could be further from the truth. It was obviously an overwhelming response, and I just thank you, because it came from your guys' follow-up on me asking that... I just want to thank you for the support that you all are giving us.

AFPS on the roundtable: Local Government Shows Progress in Iraq's Anbar Province by Fred Baker III.

Local governance is making progress in Iraq's Anbar province, and Iraqis are joining the security forces in record numbers, a top Marine operating in the province said today.

As a result, improvised explosive device attacks and casualties are down in his region, said Marine Col. Richard Simcock, commander of Regimental Combat Team 6, operating in eastern Anbar province.

Simcock answered questions today from Internet reporters and "bloggers" during a conference call from Iraq. His troops recently launched Operation Alljah, which sectioned off Fallujah into small, manageable areas and established security outposts in the communities.

"To say that I feel good would be an understatement. I am continually amazed at ... how much the local Iraqi government is actually doing to better their situation," Simcock said.

"They are working hand in hand, not only with my Marines and soldiers on ground, but also with the provisional reconstruction teams that are out here. I am very, very pleased with the efforts that local governance is putting forth."

Limited support is trickling to the region from the central Iraqi government for Iraqi police salaries and equipment, he said.

"We need more. We need a lot more to come a lot faster. It is working, but it's not working fast enough, and it's not working in sufficient amounts," he added.

Recruiting for the Iraqi police is on the rise in the region, and the security forces continue to grow in the form of the army, the Iraqi police, the provincial security forces and neighborhood watches, Simcock said.

"That has been the key element to allow me to do my mission and work with them so that we're both trying to accomplish the same thing," he said.

He also said that the local citizens are setting aside their sectarian differences to work together as Iraqis to rebuild the region. This has been a critical turning point, as more Sunnis join the Iraqi army.

"We don't see a lot of problems in the army between the Sunni and the Shiia; they work as one," Simcock said. "They downplay the religious aspect of it. They don't identify themselves as Sunni or Shiia. They'll identify themselves as Iraqis and are working for the betterment of Iraq, and I think that's a huge step forward for them."

When questioned whether the Iraq security forces were capable of independent operation, Simcock said he doesn't want his forces operating independent of the Iraqis.

"I can't overstate the importance of having the Iraqis working with us," the commander said. "We get more and more benefit out of their participation in what we're doing over here. We want to stay engaged with them for what they give to us as a combat multiplier here in our (area of operations)."

Simcock said the two forces benefit from a partnership that provides invaluable intelligence to U.S. forces and training to become a more capable force to the Iraqi forces.

He also had high praise for the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles. Simcock's unit recently had 25 more of the vehicles, which feature V-shaped hulls to deflect explosions, delivered, and he said he expects hundreds more.

"They are especially good being used out on the road networks. As you know, that is the chosen battle space of our enemy. That's where they emplace the improvised explosive devices," he said. "The MRAPs are truly superior, from a defensive nature, in protecting our Marines and soldiers. I can't get enough of them. I am supposed to get over 400 of them, and I will definitely employ every one of them."

Even more on RCT 6 -- See Herschel Smith's Captain's Journal: Operation Alljah and the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 6th Regiment.

Lt. Col. William F. Mullen who commands the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment (currently at Forward Operating Base Reaper on the South side of Fallujah), gives us an exclusive look into Operation Alljah and what has been accomplished in Fallujah. His discussion is both informative and interesting, and points to modifications and adjustments to the template used in the Anbar Province. Every city and engagement has been a unique experience, but the adaptability of the United States Marine Corps has proven to be one of the most effective weapons in their arsenal.

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Foreign Service Institute Language Courses

Welcome to fsi-language-courses.com, the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain.

This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. This site is not affiliated in any way with any government entity; it is an independent, non-profit effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages. Courses here are made available through the private efforts of individuals who are donating their time and resources to provide quality materials for language learning.

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President Bush on National Reconciliation and Prime Minister Maliki

21 August (White House Transcript)

The way I view Iraq is from the security perspective and a political perspective. I made a decision to send more troops into Iraq to provide enough security for reconciliation to have the time to take place. It appears to me -- and I certainly don't want to prejudge General David Petraeus's report back home -- but there is some progress being made. In other words, one aspect of my decision is working.

There are two types of political reconciliation that can take place in a new democracy: One is from the top down, and one is from the bottom up. Clearly, the Iraqi government has got to do more through its parliament to help heal the wounds of years -- having lived years under a tyrant. It's not easy to go from a tyrannical society where the tyrant brutalized his people and created deep suspicions into one in which people are —to work more closely together.

The Iraqi people made a great step toward reconciliation when they passed the most modern constitution in the Middle East, and now their government has got to perform. And I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to work -- to come to get, for example, an oil revenue law passed or provincial elections.

On the other hand, I do want to point out that the Iraqi parliament has met and passed 60 different pieces of legislation. They do have a budgeting process that is in the process of distributing a significant amount of money from the central government to the provincial governments, and the money they're distributing is oil revenues. So there may not be an oil revenue distribution law, but there's oil revenues being distributed.

There's bottom-up reconciliation taking place. It's noticeable and tangible and real, where people at the grassroots level are sick and tired of the violence, sick and tired of the radicalism, and they want -- and they want a better life. And they're beginning to reject the extremists that have the desire to have a safe haven, for example, from which to launch further attacks on America. In other words, there's a process taking place. And the fundamental question is, will the government respond to the demands of the people? And if the government doesn't demand -- respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government. That's up to the Iraqis to make that decision, not American politicians. The Iraqis will decide. They have decided they want a constitution, they have elected members to their parliament, and they will make the decisions, just like democracies do...

22 August (White House Transcript)

... A free Iraq is not going to be perfect. A free Iraq will not make decisions as quickly as the country did under the dictatorship. Many are frustrated by the pace of progress in Baghdad, and I can understand this. As I noted yesterday, the Iraqi government is distributing oil revenues across its provinces despite not having an oil revenue law on its books, that the parliament has passed about 60 pieces of legislation.

Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, a good man with a difficult job, and I support him. And it's not up to politicians in Washington, D.C. to say whether he will remain in his position -- that is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy, and not a dictatorship. A free Iraq is not going to transform the Middle East overnight. But a free Iraq will be a massive defeat for al Qaeda, it will be an example that provides hope for millions throughout the Middle East, it will be a friend of the United States, and it's going to be an important ally in the ideological struggle of the 21st century...

Hat Tip Phillip Carter at Intel Dump -- for more see The Diem Option

Over the past few days, we've seen a marked shift in statements from American political and military leaders regarding Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. The shift began last weekend with an op-ed in the Washington Post by former interim prime minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite strongman who would like to once again run Iraq...

Calling for democratic regime change is healthy for a democracy. But somehow, I don't think that's what Allawi was calling for, particularly given his history of ties to the Baathist state of Iraq.

And, as if on cue, a series of senior U.S. political and military leaders appeared —to give him a green light to launch a coup d'etat. Tuesday's New York Times reported that Sens. Carl Levin and John Warner, the two senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a joint statement in Baghdad that Maliki was beyond redemption...

So... what does this have to do with Ngo Dinh Diem? Not much. Except that 44 years ago, a group of America's best and brightest thought they could engineer the situation in Vietnam by removing a corrupt and incompetent regime from power. They were wrong. Allowing a coup to topple the Diem government started that country down a death spiral from which it never recovered. We should exercise a great deal of caution here, both in what we do and what we say...

Just some excerpts -- go to the link for full-effect...

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Ambassador Ryan Crocker (21 August -- MNF-I Transcript)

... The whole premise of course of the surge was to provide, to bring levels of violence down and keep them down so that there would be the time and space for political leadership to get on with the business of national reconciliation. And that first part of it clearly is happening. You still have spectacular car bomb attacks like Sinjar but the overall level of sectarian killing, particularly in Baghdad, has come down.

Now, does that mean that the opportunity is now been presented to leadership and they missed it? Or are missing it. Again, keeping in mind my first point about a sense of frustration here, I would suggest that it's gonna take- before you get meaningful reconciliation that's felt not just among leaders although that's an essentially step but it is really felt down through society, that's going to take time. You know, I've been around these last couple of months in a number of neighborhoods including some that I was in in 2003 like Mansur and up where we were on Saturday in Gazaliah. You know, what's happened over the last couple of years is stunning to me and what's happened to kind of middle class, upper middle class neighborhoods the violence, the population shifts, the displacement, you know tens of thousands of Iraqis that have been killed. You're just not going to overcome that in a few weeks or indeed in a few months. You're not. Uh, I think you can start to build a situation starting again at a national level with security conditions in place that prevent an immediate resurgence of violence but I think it's gonna take a fair amount of time to overcome the damage that's been done to trust in confidence among the Iraqis after what they've been through bearing in mind that the levels of trust and confidence were not exactly extremely high when this started in 2003 based on again the legacy of thirty-five years of how Saddam ran the place and the climate of fear and mistrust that he created. So, it's a long answer but it's a hugely complex issue that to achieve reconciliation that's more than say the passage of a law or a leadership statement but that's felt deeply through the society is going to be a very long-term undertaking.

We have supported the prime minister's government since its inception. We continue to support it as it makes serious efforts to achieve national reconciliation and deliver effective governance to the people of Iraq. It's not just an issue of the prime minister. It's the whole government that has to perform here. We do expect results as do the Iraqi people and our support is not a blank check. We need to see results. At the same time, again just as I was saying you know we know it's not easy. But we do think they've got a national obligation to apply themselves in every way they can and I think that's what they're trying to do now again on these two levels. You have national reconciliation but also just being a government to the people of Iraq. And you see it probably more than I do I mean when you're out around town, there is not a strong sense anywhere really of the central government being present and active in just making conditions of life better. They gotta do more of that too...

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Special Operations Forces Book Seminar at National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C. on 20 September at 1300

The authors of United States Special Operations Forces will discuss their recommendations regarding SOF missions, SOF role in the war on terror, and SOF reforms. The event will comprise two panels - one of the authors providing an overview of the book and then a second panel offering a critique/expansion on what the authors proposed. All discussions are unclassified and open to students, faculty, and others who are interested.

This seminar highlights a long-standing but oft-ignored debate about the strategic employment of special operations forces (SOF). Most reviews of special operations focus on the difficult missions; relatively few shed light on how these unique forces could be better organized and employed to make a greater strategic contribution to the war on terrorism or in light of major changes in the security environment. Dr. David Tucker of the Naval Postgraduate School and Dr. Christopher Lamb of the Institute for National Security Studies advance the argument that SOF are not used to their full strategic potential, in part because the leaders do not equally understand and value SOF's indirect approach and capabilities. Tucker and Lamb briefly advanced this thesis in a January 2006 Institute for National Security Studies Strategic Forum, "Restructuring Special Operations Forces for Emerging Threats," and now provide a fuller explanation of their position with the publication of U.S. Special Operations Forces by Columbia University Press. Attendees will hear a brief explanation of the authors' thesis and then commentary by experts from the special operations community...

Online registration form.