Just as the Great Society didn’t work in our own country on our own people, the Great Society Abroad doesn’t work on alien peoples in foreign cultures, either. It didn’t work in Vietnam, as discussed here by the late Peter Braestrup, and it doesn’t work in Iraq or Afghanistan. This means that it’s not a military defeat that faces us on what I wish were imminent withdrawal from the umma (oh, happy day and good riddance), but rather another costly validation of the fact that social engineering doesn’t work, even with guns.
The civilian leadership and the military brass must be held accountable for this travesty.
From the Associated Press:
BAGHDAD — Two U.S. troops were killed Saturday by an Iraqi soldier who apparently smuggled real bullets into a training exercise and opened fire, raising fresh concerns about the nation’s security forces as the Americans prepare to leave by the end of this year.
A U.S. military official said the shooter was immediately killed by American soldiers who were running the morning drill at a training center on a U.S. base in the northern city of Mosul. The U.S. official said the exercise was not meant to involve live ammunition, and an Iraqi army officer said the shooting appeared to have been planned.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. A U.S. statement confirmed that two soldiers were killed and a third was wounded by small-arms fire by what the military described as “an individual wearing an Iraqi army uniform.”
“This incident occurred during a training event being conducted by U.S. forces as part of their advise and assist mission with Iraqi security forces,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
The Americans were not identified pending notification of next of kin, and the statement provided few other details. The U.S. troops were from the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Ft. Hood, Texas.
Our leaders deny it was jihad at home, and they’ll deny it was jihad abroad.
Additionally, another American soldier was killed Saturday during an unrelated military operation in central Iraq, making it one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in the country in months. A U.S. military statement offered no details about that death.
The Mosul attack underscores the threats that U.S. forces continue to face in Iraq even though most of the estimated 47,000 troops no longer go on regular combat missions. The vast majority of American troops left _ down from nearly 170,000 in 2008 _ are all but confined to bases where they help train Iraqi police, soldiers and pilots how to protect the country from threats like insurgents and invasions….
“All but confined to bases” — in the “new” Iraq? Gee, that sure was a magnificent victory: We get to play rent-a-cop-and-trainer. Meanwhile, if Iraqi police, soldiers and pilots haven’t gotten the idea by now, they’re just not gonna get it.
Details about the deadly exercise were sketchy Saturday afternoon. A pair of Iraqi security officials said two assailants were captured after the shooting. The U.S. military official disputed that account. Such confusion is common immediately following a deadly event.
Make that after, during and before.