Lieutenant Colonel Raad Niaf Haroosh, commander of the Iraqi battalion in Ramidi, only has 145 of his troops committed to the operation. He left 500 of them back in Mosul. Why? According to Colonel Raad, it's because they fear that they'll create tribal vendettas if they kill fellow Iraqis. "They said, 'We don't want fight our own people.'"
Isn't that dandy? NPR reports that recruits have to pay a $600 bribe to get into Colonel Raad's battalion. If I could serve in a battalion where I didn't have to fight if I didn't want to, I'd pay money to get into it too. Staying back at the base and peeling potatoes beats the heck out of getting shot at.
See the entire commentary at ePluribus Media.
Yeah, the problem was similar but not identical. I'd have to re-research that aspect to Vietnam, but the religious/tribal issues weren't quite the same.
ReplyDeleteSame basic result, though.
Reading ur blog is a revelation. As someone living outside of the US, its hard to know whats going on inside. Which is scary in itself - because US policy dictates what happens in so many countries. Even on my tiny island.... Britain. Although we have been reassured by the US administration that we are special many times - how nice.
ReplyDeleteTahnia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words.
Even scarier to me is that at this point, most Americans don't like the policies that are affecting the whole world.