Nation

US Military Controls Diplomacy In Iraq As US State Department Stands On The Sidelines

January 18, 2007
By Marshall Adame

Go to just about any significant meeting between Iraqi Government and US government officials in Iraq and you will quickly understand who is running the Diplomatic efforts in Iraq. The US Military.

Ask any Iraqi government official in Baghdad, or in any of the 18 provinces, who they are primarily counseling and meeting with regarding civil development and governance capacity building and they will, in almost all cases, reply “the US Army”.

US Diplomats have, in effect, relinquished their Diplomatic “front seat” in Iraq to the US Military who, although well intentioned, come to the table with little or no idea of what is “diplomatically” required of those engaged in efforts geared to joint solutions, resolutions, plans and cooperative efforts which benefit all parties in substantive and acceptable operational environments. Diplomacy, in dealing with the Iraqis, is far removed from the Army mindset, as it should be. In the mind of an Army officer, the needs of the Army are paramount to any objective or requirement. Other, non-Army, priorities, requirements, objectives or desires come a very distant second in any action or negotiation. Diplomacy is not the forte of the US Military. Fighting wars is. Diplomacy is far removed from the dynamics and tactics of fighting a ground war. There is however a requirement for the execution of Diplomatic efforts and programs and administration in a War. That is why we have the US Department of State.