by Michael R. Gordon
Army original of staff Gen. Ray Odierno issued the marching orders inwards the autumn of 2013. Some of the Army’s brightest officers would draft an unvarnished history of its performance inwards the Iraq War. A towering officer who served 55 months inwards Iraq, Gen. Odierno told the squad the Army hadn’t produced a proper study of its purpose inwards the Vietnam War too had to pass the offset years inwards Republic of Iraq relearning lessons. This time, he said, the squad would query earlier memories faded too release a history piece the lessons were most relevant. It would live unclassified, he said, to cause intelligence close the intervention—one that deepened the U.S.’s Mideast role too toll to a greater extent than than 4,400 American lives. He arranged for 30,000 pages of documents to live declassified. For nearly iii years, the squad studied those papers too conducted to a greater extent than than 100 interviews.
By June 2016, it had drafted a two-volume history of to a greater extent than than 1,300 pages. H.R. McMaster, the onetime national safety adviser to President Trump, reviewed the tomes piece a three-star general. He said inwards an interview lastly calendar month it was “by far the best too most comprehensive operational written report of the United States sense inwards Republic of Iraq betwixt 2003 too 2011.
The study’s title: “The the States Army inwards the Republic of Iraq War.”
It has nevertheless to live published.
Gen. Odierno retired earlier the squad could complete the history, which hence became stuck inwards internal reviews too procedural byways. Under novel Pentagon leadership, Army priorities changed from counterinsurgency to countering powers such every bit Russian Federation too China. Senior brass fretted over the acquit upon the study’s criticisms mightiness have on prominent officers’ reputations too on congressional back upwardly for the service.
The study’s rattling beingness is niggling known exterior the Army. The Wall Street Journal pieced together its history through dozens of interviews amongst onetime too electrical flow officials familiar amongst the effort, too from reviews of internal memorandums too emails.
In the yesteryear few months alone, Army officials debated whether the written report should live embraced or disowned. After a high-level review lastly month, Army officials issued instructions to withdraw a foreword noting the written report had been “commissioned” yesteryear the Army too to scrub it of other signs that it had top-level sponsorship.
After the Journal lastly calendar week asked Gen. Odierno’s successor every bit original of staff, Gen. Mark Milley, close the Army’s treatment of the study, he reversed those moves too vowed to write his ain foreword. He says that although the written report isn’t an official history too has gaps inwards areas such every bit exceptional operations too enemy activities, the written report squad “did a damn practiced job.”
“We owe it to ourselves every bit an dry reason forces to plough the lessons learned every bit speedily too every bit accurately every bit nosotros can,” he says, “understanding that they are non going to live perfect.” He says he hopes to release the written report yesteryear year’s end.
The saga shows the Army’s difficulty inwards engaging inwards the self-criticism needed to ameliorate its armed forces performance, state to a greater extent than or less familiar amongst the effort, including Frank Sobchak, the written report team’s concluding director, who retired every bit a colonel inwards August.
“We worked tirelessly for iii years to consummate a scholarly production that captured the war’s lessons inwards a readable historical narrative,” he says. “That the Army was paralyzed amongst apprehension for the yesteryear 2 years over publishing it leaves me disappointed amongst the establishment to which I dedicated my adult life.”…
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