If Joseph Heller's war began in 2004 instead of 1944, this would be the book entitled Catch-22. Once I picked up We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People (available September 27), I could not put the book down. I could not believe so much that appears to be fictional satire could instead relate actual events.
Author Peter Van Buren, a career State Department Foreign Service Officer (FSO), could have been Heller's Yossarian, a traveler adrift in a sea of official insanity, whose survival depends on pretending it is all as it should be until he can escape. He relates tales of incredible hubris, inedible military rations, of status-seeking superiors and shady local grifters, corrupt "businessmen" both native and contracted, of brass-polishing officers and resigned enlisted personnel. All of these people are assigned to distribute massive mounds of Your Money in a poorly-researched and badly-managed effort to convert Iraq from an ancient tribal culture into a clone of suburban America while mired in a war with cultural and religious overtones. Yet the most basic needs of the local people are completely ignored in the incompetent planning of some incredibly expensive community development projects intended to nation-build Iraq.
The FSOs justify all of this frantic activity to their superiors via fabricated reports (as directed and edited by their superiors) through claiming spectacular successes with projects intended to meet local needs; in reality, the outcomes constitute failures that even the local residents understand to be exercises in lavishly expensive foolishness. This is described in a project intended to both employ idle Iraqis and to improve security for patrols by removing trash from the streets. Each night, all of the removed trash would be returned to the streets for the next day's effort. No lasting results get produced, and no one ever follows up to see where all the money really went. The only requirement is that once a project is approved and funded, it must all be spent — quickly! There would be hell to pay if there was anything left unissued. Then the project is stamped completed and abandonded.
Article comments
1 - Dr Joseph S Maresca
Quote:
"All of these people are assigned to distribute massive mounds of Your Money in a poorly-researched and badly-managed effort to convert Iraq from an ancient tribal culture into a clone of suburban America while mired in a war with cultural and religious overtones."
Response: We cannot convert Iraq into a clone of suburban America. Whatever we do must have the concurrence of the people who actually live in the area. This was Machiavelli's important principle of military engagement and its aftermath.
We can assist with installing brand new accounting systems to track the oil revenues, as well as municipal accounting systems to run major cities/municipalities with the oil revenues. Next, we could install brand new systems to provide social services like education, medical, recreational etc. Essentially, this is what Saudi Arabia attempted to do with somemodicum of success.
Our attention should be directed to the development of small businesses which serve the local community, as well as exports to foreign markets over time.
2 - Yonatan
"The FSOs justify all of this frantic activity to their superiors via fabricated reports (as directed and edited by their superiors) through claiming spectacular successes with projects intended to meet local needs; in reality, the outcomes constitute failures that even the local residents understand to be exercises in lavishly expensive foolishness."
This is an effective summary of Soviet 5 Year Plans. Everyone reporting upwards saying all is well, with increasing positive spin as the message travels. Meanwhile, the people on the ground starve.
3 - Realist
@Dr Joe:
The function of the FSOs in Iraq was to stimulate small business activities. Unfortunately, someone's idea of a small business didn't match the needs of the Iraqi people very well.
4 - Popsiq
The Iraq/Afghan Wars are going to provide grist for such writers for years to come. If the Vietnam Experience was a result of ignorance and naivety, the latter wars are rooted in malevolence and pure error.
"We Meant Well"??? Just like Heinrich Himmler did.
5 - Strider
Perhaps at some future date this book will be entered into evidence in the war-crimes and/or crimes-against-humanity trials of Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice and others.
6 - Igor
Iraq rebuilding was a huge failure of capitalism and market economy.