Carrots, sticks, and reconciliation

Major General Rick Lynch, Commander, Multi-National Division -- Center (Iraq) interviewed by 3ID's "hometown" (Savannah, Ga) reporters.

Reconciliation:

General Lynch is focused on the soldiers, but has an eye on progress among political leaders in the U.S. and Iraq, too. As President Bush noted in announcing the new strategy, "A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations" - our goals in Iraq can't be achieved by the military alone.

General David Petraeus agreed - a point he emphasized in his first press conference from Iraq.

And one key non-military requirement acknowledged as critical by both men: "reconciliation":

With respect, again, to the -- you know, the idea of the reconcilables and the irreconcilables, this is something in which the Iraqi government obviously has the lead. It is something that they have sought to -- in some cases, to reach out. And I think, again, that any student of history recognizes that there is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq.

We are, in any event, still in the early days of this endeavor, an endeavor that will take months, not days or weeks, to fully implement, and one that will have to be sustained to achieve its desired effect.

And again, I think we should watch actions in terms of reconciliation, and so forth, again, in the weeks ahead as the Council of Representatives reconvenes, and so on.

This week the Iraqi government met another "benchmark" on the path to that goal:

Iraq Orders Pensions Paid To Hussein Officers

Iraq's prime minister yesterday ordered pension payments for senior officers of Saddam Hussein's military and offered a return to service for lower-ranking soldiers, a major step aimed at defusing the Sunni insurgency and meeting U.S. benchmarks for his government.

Many former top intelligence, security and military officials are believed to have joined the Sunni insurgency after former U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer disbanded Iraq's 350,000-member military in 2003, a month after Hussein's regime was ousted.

The Maliki statement said any former officer above the rank of major would be given a pension equal to that of officers now retiring. Former officers above major who wanted to rejoin the army were encouraged to check with the military command to learn if they were acceptable in the Iraqi army that is being rebuilt by U.S. forces.

Those who had the rank of major or lower may voluntarily return to the army.

Lower-ranking officers and enlisted men with scientific or medical training would be given jobs in an appropriate government ministry, the statement said.
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The Bush administration has set out several benchmarks for Maliki's government. One is passage of the de-Baathification law to encourage Sunnis to rejoin the political process.

The draft measure sponsored by Maliki and Talabani would set a three-month challenge period after which ex-Baath Party loyalists would be immune from legal punishment for their actions during Hussein's rule.

The bill, which excludes former regime members already charged with or sought for crimes, also would grant state pensions to many Baathists even if they were denied posts in the government or military.

Sticks

The first step to "reconciliation" is to set down weapons. Until combatants from both sides recognize their survival is actually more certain if they are unarmed, it won't happen. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's announcement of the new strategy sent a direct message to his fellow Shiites:

Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as American and Iraqi troops prepared major military operations aimed at ending sectarian warfare in Baghdad.

U.S.-Iraqi Raids Target Sadr Militiamen

Iraqi and coalition forces rolled into Diwaniya before dawn Friday to rout elements of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr's Al Mahdi militia that had fled the Baghdad security crackdown and sparked an increase in violence in regions south of the capital.

U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl said the troops faced "steady resistance through the day" from Sadr's militiamen. The U.S. troops had been called down from Baghdad to reinforce the Iraqi army's 8th Division and the region's Polish-led soldiers.

Frightened residents stayed inside and a curfew was imposed on the city, about 95 miles south of Baghdad, as the combined forces raided neighborhoods believed to be militia strongholds, officials said.