Major Bevelacqua, Fox News Military Analyst
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Major Bob Bevelacqua, Fox News Military Analyst, was on the ground in Iraq up until two weeks ago. Major Bob Bevelacqua answered the following questions regarding the success of the Iraq elections: Gabrielle Reilly: How would you rate the overall
success of the Iraq election? Gabrielle Reilly: What was the overall Sunni response to the election?
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gabrielle Reilly: Did Al-Sadr and his militia obstruct the elections in anyway? Major Bob Bevelacqua: I
don't think so and this is due largely in part to Al Sistani issuing
a Fatwa for all Shia to vote - Al-Sadr can not resend an order like
that so he had no choice but to play along. Gabrielle Reilly: It appears to me that the difference
between Al-Sadr and the foreign insurgents was Al-Sadr had a vested
interest in the future of Iraq and the insurgents had a vested interest
in creating chaos in Iraq. Are there any areas of concern you feel
we need to be aware off for stabilizing Iraq now the election is over? Gabrielle Reilly: Absolutely. Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa, had a very successful reconstruction using an extensive plan which included an anti-corruption department set up by the United Kingdom. Click here to view the model they used which is certainly worth reviewing. Stamping out corruption is an essential element in the countries future. Do we need to adopt any new strategies and tactics as the Iraqi's take control back of their country? Major Bob Bevelacqua: Yes, avoidance and a low profile. Once the Iraqis begin to run operations the US must assume a low profile and avoid confrontation with both Iraqis and the insurgency. If we continue to lead the charge we will find it hard to redeploy back to the States. Gabrielle Reilly: I agree a low profile is also essential. Actually, the British had another successful model they used to keep a low profile in Sierra Leone. The "over the horizon rapid response" team was brilliant. They had their naval ship floating off the coast of West Africa with troops ready for immediate deployment should any uprising reoccur. Obviously the geography is different in Iraq but perhaps moving into a remote model could be ideal when the country is more stable. Do you have any guidelines on when you think US troops should withdraw? Major Bob Bevelacqua: When the Iraqi military can stand on their own two feet, when there is a cop on every street corner in every major city and when the Iraqi government stops ripping off the people through money laundering and skimming of projects....this could take a while...! Gabrielle Reilly: Yes it would be a disaster to leave before Iraq is stabilized. Iraq would become the next terrorist playground like Afghanistan had become under the Taliban rule. People loosing their patience must remember that what happened in Afghanistan gravely affected us in America on 9/11. What happens in Iraq can also gravely affect our future and make the War on Terror last longer with far more causalities. END OF INTERVIEW Major Bob has a great new book out (I must like it, I endorsed the back cover) that draws on his extensive "on the ground" experience around the world: "Major Bob Unvarnished - Why We Keep Making The Same Mistakes".
INSIGHT A moment's insight is sometimes worth - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Gabrielle Reilly Weekly © |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
