Article

2008-04-16 Iraq

Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite Americans Plea

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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2008-04-16 11:16|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 The episode began when Major Sattar, the leader of an Iraqi company that had taken up positions 700 yards in front of the Americans, suddenly appeared at Company Bs field headquarters in the southern part of Sadr City.

The majors company had replaced a more battle-hardened Iraqi unit just two days earlier, and he had been unhappy to find that he would be occupying a position to the front of the better trained and equipped Americans.

Every house in Sadr City probably has one of their sons in the Mahdi Army, he observed when American soldiers visited his position on Monday. So it is hard to convince people to believe in the Iraqi Army.

When he arrived at the Americans position on Tuesday, the Iraqi officer reported that many of his soldiers had taken off their uniforms and deserted after other Iraqi Army commanders failed to send reinforcements during a gun battle with militias that he said had lasted several hours.

Major Sattar calmly explained that he was leading the remainder of his 80-man company away from the fight. As if to underscore the point, a convoy of Iraqi vehicles piled high with furniture was parked in front of the American position.

The Sattar family is a very inportant family in Anbar. They took the point in the Anbar Awakening, and Sheik Sattar was murdered by al Qaeda just days after he shook hands with President Bush.

Now there may be many branches of Clan Sattar, but this may not bode well.

Posted by Seafarious 2008-04-16 11:49|| 2008-04-16 11:49|| Front Page Top

#2 Yes, this could be bad, but it could be just one more example of someone who is not an effective leader and should be relieved or retrained. The IA is not going to get better without hiccups. There are still significant weaknesses within it. These things are going to happen. It is the frequency of their occurrence and the response to the occurrences that matter. We shall see.

Posted by remoteman 2008-04-16 14:12|| 2008-04-16 14:12|| Front Page Top

#3 Agreed, on all points.

Posted by Seafarious 2008-04-16 14:16|| 2008-04-16 14:16|| Front Page Top

#4 The truck packed with furniture was a nice touch. I wonder if it was all theirs?

Posted by Seafarious 2008-04-16 14:16|| 2008-04-16 14:16|| Front Page Top

#5 Like Petraeus said, you can train up foot soldiers quickly, developing leaders isnt so fast - clearly there is still weakness in the mid level officers.

OTOH other Iraqi units involved in that incident seem to have performed better, even according to the NYT article itself.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-04-16 14:28|| 2008-04-16 14:28|| Front Page Top

#6 We are not afraid, the major responded.

Of course not. The thought hadn't crossed my mind.

Posted by gorb 2008-04-16 15:21|| 2008-04-16 15:21|| Front Page Top

#7 NYSlimes
ONE Iraqi company led by a 'Major' putz, an Iraqi officer who never should have been promoted.

I wouldn't draw too much from this except for the FACT that the NYslimes has seldom praised the millions of shinning hours, units, Iraqi soldiers, American Marines, Soldiers, Navy Personal, Air Force personal, Coast guard Personal [all heros] or anything positive about the entire mission in Iraq.

wild speculation:
It's entirely possible that locally the line of command MAY NOT have gone thru a Combined Command and Control Chain, so that this Iraqi company wasn't directally under any American Officers control?

Or maybe Major Sattar was the Iraqi Chain element in the Combined Command and Control unit?

Posted by RD">RD 2008-04-16 16:36|| 2008-04-16 16:36|| Front Page Top

#8 There is also the possibility of the Posse Comitatus problem. That is, it is always easier to get an army to shoot at an invading enemy than it is to get them to shoot "at their own kind". This is true whether it is Iraq or Tennessee.

This is why it is a rule of thumb that if you have to send in the military, you send the military from some other part of the country.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-04-16 18:50|| 2008-04-16 18:50|| Front Page Top

#9 So what this is, is an ineffective individual from a prominent Iraq family. Somebody's idiot nephew perhaps?

Posted by Hector 2008-04-16 18:52|| 2008-04-16 18:52|| Front Page Top

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