How Far We've Come

I want to begin this post by addressing some remarks I made in the last post. A close mentor of mine pointed out some corrections that I need to make you aware of. First, I told you about the dismantling of the power grid in Iraq after the Coalition liberation and that copper wire being sold on the recycled metals market. The manner in which I told you might lead you to believe that Iraq had a national power grid to begin with. This is not the case. During Saddam’s reign there were power plants and power lines, but resources were not properly managed or allocated to keep them operational. You wonder how people were able to steal high voltage electric wire? There wasn’t any electricity running through it. For the average Iraqi, power was not something you had in your home. In fact you look at most Iraqi houses and they have tapped into the main power lines by dangerously splicing wires only after our arrival in country. This of course compounds the issue because now overloaded power lines and low hanging wires are everywhere. Most Iraqis didn’t have electric appliances or lighting either. The electric wiring I see in most houses is post-US presence. Saddam purposefully restricted the infrastructure development in order to isolate the population. Isolating the population stifles the growth of resistance and maintains your totalitarian control. Par for the course of military dictatorships.

Secondly, I came to the rather hasty conclusion that Iraq could be on its way to becoming a model Middle East nation. The road to that end is rough at best. Saddam burned a lot of bridges in foreign relations with many Middle East countries. He was an egotistical bully. The invasion of Iran combined with the invasion of Kuwait pitted many neighbors against Iraq. This leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the rest of the Middle East even with Saddam gone. So Iraq has some foreign relations to work on thanks to Saddam. The ripples from his dictatorship will be felt in Iraq for many years to come.

But on the positive side, I can honestly say things have come a long way even in the six months I’ve been here. I need to caveat this statement by saying my perspective is very limited. I’ve only seen a small portion of one of the 18 provinces of Iraq. And so I can’t speak for all Iraq, but I will tell you that what I’m seeing is mostly good. Due to a new Status of Forces Agreement between the US and Iraq (commonly called “the SOFA”), US forces have pulled out of the cities big and small and now reside only on bases outside the towns and cities. No longer do Marines occupy any platoon size bases that I’m aware of. The smallest I’ve seen is now a company-reinforced position that will go away in the next month. Two weeks ago, I personally closed down the platoon size OP that my company maintained with Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and they control all the battle space that my company formerly maintained. We no longer patrol with ISF like we did when we got here. I no longer meet with them and mentor them the same way when we got here. That mentorship is still done but mostly at the Battalion Commander level and higher. The ISF are conducting their own missions, their own patrols, and their own intelligence collecting without us or any of our help. We aren’t even allowed to drive into the cities without coordinating escorts from Iraqi Police. We’re honestly just guests here making sure nothing happens as we withdraw. And the exciting thing is nothing has happened since our drawdown beginning July 1^st. In the entire Al-Anbar province, and to my knowledge in the other provinces as well, there has been no deterioration of security or outbreak of violence since we’ve stepped down like some were expecting. There is still an insurgency, but they have not suddenly surged back. The biggest indicator of progress is the actions of the people themselves. Iraqi people are freely going about their business, unafraid of driving on the roadways, shopping in the markets, or going to prayer. Iraqis who left during the war are returning from Syria, Jordan, and even America. I met a man who had been able to escape Iraq just before the Gulf War and had spent the last 19 years in California. He has moved back to Iraq because he always considered it home and he believes in the change he has seen.

On a personal note, it’s exciting to be here during a pivotal time like this. It is cool to see them take ownership. I’ve certainly seen and experienced a lot during my time here. It wasn’t the “war” I expected two years ago when I was commissioned, but it was a challenge in other ways. This brings up a couple other points. I have been a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps now for two years. I’m going to be promoted to First Lieutenant on Wednesday, and I will be taking over as Company Executive Officer upon return to the states. This will be a much different role than Platoon Commander but I’m looking forward to the opportunity. Furthermore, our Battalion is returning to the states about a month early due to the fact that this transition time is going so smoothly. I expect to be back in 29 Palms by 12 August. I’ll write a little more then.

Embracing the Passion,

J