Withdrawing from Iraq: Part III

Here is the next portion of my "Withdrawing from Iraq" series based off of the book Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now.

9. Mercenaries (also called the Personal Security Detail) make up a significant number of the forces in Iraq. With at least 25,000 armed men, they outnumber the British troops in the coalition. They are hired by U.S. government funds and the way to get them out of Iraq is simple: 'stop the payments we make to them.'

10. Land mines will pose a serious risk to Iraqis and America would need to do what it can and supply funds to the Iraqi government to help with there removal. As was learned during the Gulf War, the remains of uranium tipped artillery shells led to an increased risk of cancer (and death)among Iraqis and American troops alike. The book's author's recommend at least $250 million, which equates to roughly one day of the occupation.

11. Property damage. Valued at between $100 billion and $200 billion for the invasion and occupation, complete payment for repairs would be next to impossible. However, the U.S. needs to 'make a generous contribution if progress is to be made,' much of it should come in the form of grants and loans.

12. America must also invest in rebuilding the Iraqi economy. As Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey (Ret), professor of international affairs at West Point, has said "It would be misguided policy to fail to achieve our political objective after a $400 billion war because we refused to sustain the requirement to build a viable economic state." This reconstruction would include, but not be limited to, 'planning local reconstruction efforts, and creating the required supervisory organization.' The total cost of this would be around $1 billion (roughly four days of the war) for surveys, planning and organizing. It is important that Iraqis be actively be involved to help counter Iraq's growing rate of unemployment.

13. Along with step 12, the 'demolition of ugly monuments of warfare' is a must. This includes blast walls erected around American installations and would be under Iraqi government control. The total cost to America would be about $500 million, roughly two days of the war.

14. Finally for today, is the immense destruction that America caused to Iraqi cultural sites. Being the cradle of civilization, Iraq is riddled with sites of enormous significance on a global perspective. On the invasion, money and resources were not funneled into securing the museums that were subsequently raided, but were directed towards guarding oil facilities. One of these such tragedies was at the Babylon World Heritage site.

The site was 'turned into a base camp, flattening and compacting ruins to build a helicopter pad and fuel stations...soldiers filled sandbags with archaeological fragments, dug trenches through unexcavated areas, and tanks crushed slabs of original 2,600-year-old paving.'

If the U.S. does not wish to go down in history as 'another barbarian invader' that showed no respect towards the culture and history of this land, it is highly recommended that the U.S. contribute $250 million to the 'Iraqi Museum of Antiquities...the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institute, the World Monuments Fund, and [the prestigious] Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago to assist in the restoration of damaged sites.'

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George McGovern, William R. Polk (2006) Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks