The topic for today's "Military Monday" comes from an article written by an old mentor that focuses on the US retrograde (withdrawal) from Iraq. The author is LTC (ret) Ollivant, whom I've known since my days as a sub-par sociology student at West Point. Since that time, he's served multiple long tours to Iraq before retiring and subsequently advising and consulting leaders from the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan.
Though LTC (ret) Ollivant's assertion that no US Soldiers should remain in Iraq after 1 January 2012 might not be feasible given troop and equipment withdrawal timetables, his point appears to be spot on: there will be issues that accompany the inevitable US withdrawal from Iraq, but a continued US presence in Iraq is no longer in the best interests of either party (and I'll add: it arguably hasn't been for quite some time).
He continues by stating that US Policy-makers should honor the November 2008 Status of Forces agreement (stating that all US Soldiers will leave Iraq by 1 January 2012) for numerous reasons that will mutually benefit Iraq and the United States. For his full argument, you can find it at "The Zero-Sum Game" on Foreign Policy online. As one of the primary strategists involved in planning and executing General Petraeus' successful 2007 Surge in Baghdad, I consider his perspective on the issue one of the most rounded you'll find.
For my AUI Lieutenants: I thought this article would be a good starting point for a discussion considering that you're in an Arab media course and I remember being asked about similar issues during my deployments to Iraq in 2003 and 2005. Give the article and the following questions a look. How would you respond to the following question if you were a platoon leader there?
"Why is the US still in Iraq?"
1) Should you respond to it?
2) If you decide to respond, how do you do it? If not, why not?
Assuming that you respond; use the following guidelines while generating your answer:
For Advanced Arabic Speakers: (1) In Arabic, formulate your response (two short paragraphs).
For Intermediate Arabic Speakers: (1) In English, formulate your response and (2) draft a couple relevant phrases in Arabic.
For Beginning Arabic Speakers: (1) In English, formulate your response (two short paragraphs). (2) ID the focal points and translate a short list of the major words into Arabic.
Though LTC (ret) Ollivant's assertion that no US Soldiers should remain in Iraq after 1 January 2012 might not be feasible given troop and equipment withdrawal timetables, his point appears to be spot on: there will be issues that accompany the inevitable US withdrawal from Iraq, but a continued US presence in Iraq is no longer in the best interests of either party (and I'll add: it arguably hasn't been for quite some time).
He continues by stating that US Policy-makers should honor the November 2008 Status of Forces agreement (stating that all US Soldiers will leave Iraq by 1 January 2012) for numerous reasons that will mutually benefit Iraq and the United States. For his full argument, you can find it at "The Zero-Sum Game" on Foreign Policy online. As one of the primary strategists involved in planning and executing General Petraeus' successful 2007 Surge in Baghdad, I consider his perspective on the issue one of the most rounded you'll find.
For my AUI Lieutenants: I thought this article would be a good starting point for a discussion considering that you're in an Arab media course and I remember being asked about similar issues during my deployments to Iraq in 2003 and 2005. Give the article and the following questions a look. How would you respond to the following question if you were a platoon leader there?
"Why is the US still in Iraq?"
1) Should you respond to it?
2) If you decide to respond, how do you do it? If not, why not?
Assuming that you respond; use the following guidelines while generating your answer:
For Advanced Arabic Speakers: (1) In Arabic, formulate your response (two short paragraphs).
For Intermediate Arabic Speakers: (1) In English, formulate your response and (2) draft a couple relevant phrases in Arabic.
For Beginning Arabic Speakers: (1) In English, formulate your response (two short paragraphs). (2) ID the focal points and translate a short list of the major words into Arabic.
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