WP: Mistakes Loom Large as Handover Nears

[kskiska]

Missed Opportunities Turned High Ideals to Harsh Realities

Sunday, June 20, 2004; Page A01

First of three articles

BAGHDAD -- The American occupation of Iraq will formally end this month having failed to fulfill many of its goals and stated promises intended to transform the country into a stable democracy, according to a detailed examination drawing upon interviews with senior U.S. and Iraqi officials and internal documents of the occupation authority.

The ambitious, 15-month undertaking stumbled because of a series of mistakes that began with an inadequate commitment of resources and was aggravated by a misunderstanding of Iraqi politics, religion and society in occupied Iraq, these participants said.

"We blatantly failed to get it right," said Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution who served as an adviser to the occupation authority. "When you look at the record, it's impossible to escape the conclusion that we squandered an unprecedented opportunity."

Viewed from Baghdad since April 2003, the occupation has evolved from an optimistic partnership between Americans and Iraqis into a relationship riven by frustration and resentment. U.S. reconstruction specialists commonly complain of ungrateful Iraqis. Residents of a tough Baghdad neighborhood who welcomed U.S. forces with cold cans of orange soda last spring now jeer as military vehicles roll past. A few weeks ago, young men from the area danced atop a Humvee disabled by a roadside bomb, eventually torching it.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54294-2004Jun19.html

[grytpype]

1. Long, but read the whole thing.

Top CPA officials admit the horrible mistakes of the reconstruction.

Where can Bush hide from this?

[VolcanoJen]

2. That's a remarkable article.

It's on A01 in the Sunday Post, and it sums up the occupation as a miserable failure. It then goes on to speak of mistakes, and misjudgments, and misunderstandings...

It's coverage that was sorely lacking in the march to war, and I'm not exactly jumping up and down now that they're finally paying attention, a good year into the horror show. At any rate, I think this article is remarkable, in that it's overtly critical, sounds a bit unique in its tone, and it has top-notch placement in the Sunday Post.

Looks like another wild week ahead.

[struggle4progress]

3. "We won't just cut and run!" (-- said loudly as we cut and run)