Squandered Victory

Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq

By Larry Diamond

© Times Books 2005

For my "Middle Eastern Politics and Diplomacy" class I gave a presentation on Squandered Victory, a book focusing on our failed efforts in Iraq. I was tasked with answering two questions: why did we do so poorly and how could've we done better? Below is an outline of those answers. I encourage anyone to read this book if you want not only a look from outside the government at our goings-on with and in Iraq from 2001-2005, but also for Diamond's stories about his involvement as an academic advisor to the CPA.

I. Why did the US effort in Iraq fail?

1. We invaded in the first place

2. No plan before the war for turning power back over to the people

3. Designated Pentagon as lead agency in postwar reconstruction

a. First time since ww2 that state dep didn’t do transition

b. People chosen to deploy for rebuilding by General Garner were vetoed by the Pentagon as “soft”

c. Arrived with no Arabic speakers

d. Didn’t use exiled Iraqis input

4. Didn’t pay civil servants

5. Created colonial-like occupation

a. Redrew district boudaries

b. Announced we’d be out by August 2003

6. Lack of knowledge of customs

a. Refused to meet with religious leaders

b. Uninterested in Iraqi violence against other Iraqis

7. Formed the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)

a. Gave all power (executive, legislative, judicial) to adminstrator: Ambassador Paul Bremer

b. Made Iraqi got nevervous of occupation

c. Disbanded Iraqi army, banned Baath Party from gov employment

d. Appointed constitutional assembly, ignoring calls for an elected body

e. Refused to consider earlier elections

8. Insist on 180 days to produce and vote a provisional constitution in face of mountains of evidence against.

a. Preferred to preserve the timeline at the cost of governence

9. Constant refusal to engage with Ayatollah Sistani, Shiite religious leader

10. Slow on Washington side

11. Slow to react to Sadr’s Mahdi Army growing strength and attack

a. Dismissed as bandits

II. What would it have taken to succeed?

1. Understand that democracy only occurs in special environments

2. Understand history and political situation

3. Use one of the many transition plans constructed before invasion

4. Follow plans created after occupation

a. Train and assist transitional politics

5. Accept more help from non-US led organizations

6. Trust Iraq to self-govern

7. Put state dept in charge, bringing in experts earlier

8. Did I mention not go in the first place?

9. Insist on strong legislative branch to ensure legitimacy

The Host: A Novel

The Host: A Novel
By Stephanie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown and Company
May 2008

I began this post in November 2008, after finishing The Host for the second time. Something in it reflected whatever pain I was living through right then enough to leave me crying. I just read it a fourth time and it still moved me to tears, which may be praise enough.

Stephanie Meyer of Twilight fame came out with a novel for an older crowd and instead of vampires, we get aliens. In a twist on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Host looks at a post-invasion world through the eyes of a newly landed alien. When all goes according to plan, the aliens, or souls as they call themselves, happily inhabit a human's body (aka a host). However, when our protagonist (the Wanderer) is placed in her host, she finds that she isn't alone.

What happens next is a touching look at what it means to be human. Comparable perhaps to Edward E. Hale's The Man Without a Country, Meyer presents us with an introspective look at what we take for granted. A surprising shift from the teenage angst found in her earlier series, I look forward to more soulful writing like The Host.

Oh dear, no pun intended.

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
by Amy Stewart
Published by Algonquin Books
May 21, 2009

I had high hopes for this books as I am always looking for different ways NOT to die in nature. As it would happen, while it was a pretty book to look at with great illustrations (by Briony Morrow-Cribbs), I don't think that it is a practical guide to dangerous plants. The illustrations, for example, wouldn't help me differentiate the plants if I were out on a nature walk. Nor were the stories as fun as I had hoped. Though Lincoln's mother was undoubtedly killed by a villainous weed, her antidotes were more passing remarks than intriguing stories.  That being said, I'm still happy to own this book as it was an easy read and could help with dinner conversation some day.

For: trivia lovers
Not for: gardeners, cooks (don't want to give them any ideas)

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The Cat Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance

The Cat Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance
by Sam Stall
Published by Quirk Books
September 2, 2004

Though a little silly, I found this series of books to be extremely informative to first time pet owners, or just those considering getting a cat (or dog, see also: The Dog Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, and Advice on Lifetime Maintenance). Written as if explaining a new piece of technology or perhaps as an instruction booklet for a VCR, this fact-filled paperback lives up to its publisher's name of Quirk. While not an ideal gift for experienced pet owners, this book is a fun way to introduce these species to newbies (such as this blogger). The same publisher also has an owner's manual for babies that looks interesting while flipping through it, but I would recommend The Happiest Baby on the Block if you need a more serious approach to infant raising.

Also on the reading list...

See today's NY Times review

THE MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF HIZBOLLAH WISHES YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East by Neil MacFarquhar

First Chapter

  
And the required reading list for school:

Bacevich, Andrew J. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. Holt. 2008
 

Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done about It. Oxford, 2007
 

Duelfer, Charles. Hide and Seek: The Search for Truth in Iraq. Public Affairs, 2009.
 

Evans, Gareth.The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and for All Brookings, 2008.
 

Keylor, William R. A World of Nations: The International Order since 1945. Oxford, 2nd Edition. June 2008
 

Khanna, Parag. The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New World Order. Random House 2008
 

Kilkullen, David. The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One. Oxford 2009

Summer reading wish list

Overqualified

by Joey Comeau

The Man Who Loved Books too Much
By Allison Hoover Bartlett

Wicked Plants: the Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities

By Amy Stewart (review to come)




The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel 
by Marie Phillips
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
December 2007

I've tried to make a point of only travelling with books that I haven't already read and this week I was pleasently surprised by this habit. gods behaving badly is an amusing update of the Greek gods as they attempt to survive in a world that no longer believes in them. The story is told mostly around the twins Apollo and Artimis and is set in modern-day London where the family of gods has lived since the time of the plauge. Their story also tangles with two mortals, Neil and Alice, who must be heroic in spite of themselves. 


This book will be fun for anyone who's a fan of Greek mythology, but those who aren't familiar shouldn't shy away as there is plenty of back story to catch you up.  Readers in search of another Odyssey will probably be disappointed, but those who are looking for a cute story should pick it up.