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Exclusive: “There is a Plan Sir, isn’t there?”

Author: Jeff Bearor, (USMC, ret.)

Date Published: 2007-06-15

It’s time for Congress to stop second-guessing the Iraq War efforts, lest they stand in the way of success. FSM Contributing Editor Col. Jeff Bearor (USMC, ret.) explains.

“There is a Plan Sir, isn’t there?”

By Col. Jeff Bearor (USMC, ret.)

I served in the early 1980s right after the Falklands War as the U.S. Marine exchange officer with 45 Commando Group of the British Royal Marine Commandos. We were out once on a particularly hard march in late fall in the highlands of Scotland on a day when the wind drove the rain and sleet in horizontal sheets. In typical Commando fashion we pressed on in spite of the weather. About mid-morning one of my corporals, who had been wounded in the Falklands and been awarded the British equivalent of our Silver Star for bravery, approached me at the front of the column while we were on a particularly dicey stretch of ridgeline and he asked me “there is a plan Sir, isn’t there?”

Why was the corporal asking the captain if there was a plan? He wanted assurance that I knew what I was doing certainly. More than that, he was reminding me that I was responsible for more than myself, that for the training to be successful we all had to be successful and that maybe my long legs were pushing the column a little too fast for the conditions. He knew I had a plan for the exercise and that I should work the plan.

Why is this story germane and “Is there a plan, Sir,” for success in Iraq?

Let’s recount the last few months and weeks of activity about Iraq. The President basically fired his senior leaders engaged in overseeing the Iraq war. He heard comments from within and without the government in the form of the much touted Iraq Study Group report, and lesser advertised planning from within the Pentagon conducted by military leaders who had actually fought on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. The President offered a new plan to win in Iraq and went out and hired a new leadership team to help give his plan the best possible chance for success. He then asked those new leaders what they needed to win and has begun process of pushing those resources forward to the theater of operations.

At the same time the President conducted a series of high level meetings with Iraqi leaders to coordinate with them and to make clear that while success is obviously the goal, America’s patience and resources are not unlimited. In addition our diplomats have been working both openly and behind the scenes to convince the other players in the region to work for, not against, positive solutions in Iraq. Diplomacy by itself is useless. Military, economic and informational aspects of our national power must be brought effectively to bear for the Diplomats to have success in their arena.

What’s happened since? Prime Minister Maliki is pressuring the Shiite leaders to control if not to disband their militias and he has pledged not to tie the hands of American commanders who’ll lead soldiers and Marines into strongholds to root out the militias. American and Iraqi forces have stepped up operations designed to clear out insurgents with the armed Sunni and Shiite militias firmly in there sights for later. Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his men not to engage U.S. forces. We’ll see what positive effects, if any this has in Iraq.

The U.S. military is preparing forces to support the surge and there are options to increase beyond the initial 21,000 additional forces for Iraq. The new boss in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus will arrive in Baghdad shortly. His men, a particularly adept group of combat veteran colonels, are already there preparing for his arrival.

You can bet two things, General Petraeus has a plan and it won’t take him long to start effecting what’s going on around him.

Now, at the same time all this is taking place the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, third in line of succession behind the President, just declared yesterday that Iraq is lost. She said there is no military solution to the conflict. Well, Duh! She states the obvious. There never was a solely military solution to Iraq or to any other war. That goes without saying and military officers learn this lesson as lieutenants.

So, what has the leadership in Congress done? What is their plan for success in Iraq, employing all aspects of our national power (for the past five years the “default position” has been to let the military do it all) and for the longer war against extremism and the terrorist tactics extremist employ?

So far Congress’ plan is “non-binding” resolutions. Except for Senators McCain and Lieberman and a few others, no one in Congress has spoken in any substantive way about a cohesive, effective plan to actually win in Iraq or against extremism. Some, and it is a shrinking minority, support the President and his plan but most in Congress do not. OK, I may be just an infantryman with a PolySci degree, but even I know that it is incumbent upon those that disagree to come up with meaningful alternatives. If you disagree then what’s your plan, Ladies and Gentlemen of Congress? What will you do to ensure our success in Iraq and against those in the world that mean to do us harm?

Right now it appears to me that many in Congress don’t care about winning. They care about assigning blame, obstructing plans that may be our best chance to turn the tide in Iraq, and posturing to run for their next office. Congressman Murtha, who visited Iraq with Speaker Pelosi this week, is concerned with how many contractors there are in Iraq – not with winning, but with counting noses!

The current leadership in Congress believes they were carried to power to chart a new course, particularly as regards the war in Iraq. The old saying in the military is “lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!”

“Non-binding resolutions?!?!”

Congress - lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Col. Jeff Bearor (USMC, ret.) is a career Marine Corps officer, the former commanding officer of the Recruit Training Regiment at the US Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, SC, and has served as Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Training and Education Command, Quantico, VA.

If you are a reporter or producer who is interested in receiving more information about this writer or this article, please email your request to COY7m@aol.com.

Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of The Family Security Foundation, Inc.

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FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Col. Jeff Bearor (USMC, ret.) served more than 30 years on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring in January 2006. As an infantry officer he commanded four rifle companies, an infantry battalion and the Recruit Training Regiment at Parris Island, SC. He also served as USMC exchange officer with the British Royal Marine Commandos in 45 Commando Group in Scotland and graduated from their famed Commando Course. He is a military parachutist and diver. He served as a military detailee in the CIA Counter-Terrorist Center, as the Fleet Marine Officer/Force Protection Officer for the U.S. FIFTH Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, and as the Chief of Current Operations, J3 at the U.S. Central Command. Jeff is currently a Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities working on Marine Corps issues. The views expressed here are his own.

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If you are a reporter or producer who is interested in receiving more information about this writer or this article, please email your request to pr@familysecuritymatters.org.

Note -- The opinions expressed in this columfn are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of The Family Security Foundation, Inc.

Click here to support Family Security Matters