Polimom spent a great deal of yesterday in limbo, unable to bring my thoughts together in a way that makes sense. All of my inner turmoil was rooted in Iraq, and it was this story, in particular, that blew my thoughts to the winds:
TRACY, Calif. — The Pentagon waited nine months after completing an investigation into the deaths of two U.S. soldiers before notifying relatives the men were killed by Iraqi troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.
[snip]
Soldiers who witnessed the attack have told Nadia McCaffrey two Iraqi patrolmen opened fire on her son’s unit. The witnesses also said a third gunman simultaneously drove up to the American unit in a van, climbed onto the vehicle and fired at the Americans, she said.
Iraqi forces who had trained with the Americans had fired at them twice before the incident that killed Patrick McCaffrey, and he had reported it to his superiors, Nadia McCaffrey said.
This story shook the very foundations of Polimom’s position on Iraq, and the war there. I’m steadier now, having finally managed to digest the concept more fully, but the residue left behind is bitter.
I have written consistently about my conviction that we are committed to Iraq, and must do everything possible to repair the chaos invoked there. I cannot (and still do not) support withdrawing on the grounds of “we should never have gone in”.
However, when Iraqi troops that we’ve trained, and are working beside, start turning on us from within, there’s no chance left for success.
According to the wire service report, this was a totally unique event:
A Pentagon spokesman knew of no other incident like the shootings. Boyce said the U.S. military remained confident in its operations with Iraqis
Polimom believes that, actually, at least to some degree. If it were happening regularly, there’s no way the military could “sit” on the stories that would inevitably surface. They did, however, sit on this one — for nine months:
Military officials visited Tyson’s family on Tuesday and McCaffrey’s on Wednesday to deliver the report, which was completed on Sept. 30, 2005, according to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. She called the nine-month delay troubling.
“If the American people knew that the people we are directly helping train turned on our soldiers, support for this war would slip,” Boxer said. “It’s very disturbing to think that the Pentagon might be told to keep this kind of thing close to the vest.”
Given my own reaction, I have no trouble understanding why the Pentagon might want to keep something like this out of the limelight. It wouldn’t make much difference whether those who turned on the soldiers were infiltrators or newly-minted ideologues; it would be an untenable situation in either case.
Polimom hopes – truly, deeply hopes – that this was as unique as they’ve said.