I haven't been on task here. I haven't posted anything really about Iraq, and I frequent the Iraqi blogs listed as links often.
Michael Gordon, author of "Cobra II," wrote a very interesting piece about the Iraqi soldiers fighting with the Americans in very dangerous and insurgent-infested areas. Gordon wrote this for the New York Times, and it paints a poignant and somewhat depressing portrait of the Iraqi army. He points out that many Iraqi soldiers have not been paid for months, and that the bureucracy in the various ministries, which Gordon notes are corrupt, often don't send wages, and when they do, the Americans have to dole them out everyone gets paid fairly. He also notes that the Iraqi soldiers often receive spoiled meat and vegetables from the ministries' vendors. Medical care is provided by the Americans because, again, there is little provided by the state.
My question is this. In order to recruit and retain Iraqi soldiers, should America take over from the ministries the job of taking care of the army--for now? Is it too much to try to train a crack Iraqi army and at the same time expect the fledgling ministries to run smoothly and compentently? Would it violate soverignty if Americans provided food, medical care and wages to the Iraqi army?
Michael Gordon, author of "Cobra II," wrote a very interesting piece about the Iraqi soldiers fighting with the Americans in very dangerous and insurgent-infested areas. Gordon wrote this for the New York Times, and it paints a poignant and somewhat depressing portrait of the Iraqi army. He points out that many Iraqi soldiers have not been paid for months, and that the bureucracy in the various ministries, which Gordon notes are corrupt, often don't send wages, and when they do, the Americans have to dole them out everyone gets paid fairly. He also notes that the Iraqi soldiers often receive spoiled meat and vegetables from the ministries' vendors. Medical care is provided by the Americans because, again, there is little provided by the state.
My question is this. In order to recruit and retain Iraqi soldiers, should America take over from the ministries the job of taking care of the army--for now? Is it too much to try to train a crack Iraqi army and at the same time expect the fledgling ministries to run smoothly and compentently? Would it violate soverignty if Americans provided food, medical care and wages to the Iraqi army?
posted by mariestaad at 7:12 PM
1 Comments:
How do they "learn responsibility" and learn it "now"? The culture of graft is inherent in many American cultures too (see the recent New Yorker article abou the rebuilding of New Orleans), but somehow there are systems in place to ameliorate the more serious effects of it. . .what sort of things can you suggest, as someone who is actually there? Give an example of how, perhaps, Iraqi soldiers fighting in the hotspots could be paid. Do you see any solutions?
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