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2003-11-06 Iraq

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Posted by Fred Pruitt 2003-11-06 09:01|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "It's probably time to start designing and building units specifically for occupation and rehab"

Do i detect a grudging consideration of the idea of a "peacekeeping corps"? I realize that regular army units specializing in occupation would be different from the peacekeeping corps idea floating around (and advocated on Oxblog). Clearly having folks who carry guns, but are trained in languages and cultures (a la foreign service) and in all the skills in building and local politics our troops have learned painfully over there would be good. Better to recruit and train seperately with focus on the civil stuff, with military training as an extra, and with the notion (again a la foreign service) that these folks can be deployed overseas indefinitely, if necessary - or simply take a light infantry unit and teach them foreign languages, and rudiments of civil affairs - with the awareness that they will expect rotation home same as other Army units?

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-11-6 9:38:01 AM|| 2003-11-6 9:38:01 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 "Peacekeeping corps", with an emphasis on civil stuff with extra military training, sounds like jihadi cannon fodder. The sort of people we need to put into these regions should be equally adept at being vicious fighters and "hearts and minds" types. This combination seems to have worked well for the Marines who initially occupied southern Iraq -- they seem to have made a positive impression on the citizens for their openness while still being regarded as highly dangerous by the bad guys.

And every single trooper who has the aptitude should be enrolled in intensive language courses, focusing on Arabic for the moment. Every single unit who is deployed needs to have *at minimum* one soldier who can speak the language. And it probably wouldn't hurt the folks who are already in country to get some training as well.

Posted by snellenr 2003-11-6 12:57:38 PM|| 2003-11-6 12:57:38 PM|| Front Page Top

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