Bad Days Ahead

And then there is the problem of Iran. According to the memo, "Iranian money is pouring in" to occupied Iraq—particularly the area under British control—and it asserts that it is "a mistake" to stick to a policy of "not rock[ing] the boat" with the Iranians, as "the Iranian actors with which the State Department likes to do business . . . lack the power to deliver on promises" to exercise restraint in Iraq. According to senior U.S. intelligence and military officials queried on this point, the Iranian influence in Iraq is both real and formidable, and the U.S. is, as one put it, at best "catching up" in the battle for influence. But the officials also added that pushing the point with Iran too hard—either through diplomatic channels or on the ground in Iraq—would likely be more troubled than the current course of action, possibly resulting in armed conflict with Iran or a proxy war in Iraq that the U.S. isn't ready to fight.

Famously, Lord Cromer once described Great Britain's approach to the Land of the Nile: "We do not rule Egypt; we rule those who rule Egypt." Compare that with several statements made by the U.S. official who wrote the memo considered here. Of one senior Iraqi official, whose name is redacted, he states that "it is better to keep [him] a happy drunk than an angry drunk." And he says of two other Iraqi leaders that they are "much more compliant when their checks are delayed or fail to appear," adding that "the same is true with other Governing Council members." The attitudes aren't much different, are they? And yet sometimes, the most true and heartbreaking view is afforded from the wheel of the mighty ship of state.

Details

RELATED LINK

Read the complete text of the redacted memo that Jason Vest's Iraq story is based on.

RELATED ARTICLES

• CONDOLIAR RICE Perhaps with lies and delusions the Bush administration is looking for a mistrial. By Knute Berger MORE
• GULF OF TALKIN' Valid or not, comparisons to the deviously escalated Vietnam War are hard to dismiss these days. By Rick Anderson MORE
• THINGS FALL APART The U.S. has never been beaten so badly as in Iraq. By Geov Parrish MORE

Related Content

• Our Military Has a Gambling Problem
  May 2, 2012
• Mike McGinn's Road Ahead: Be Like Bush, Then "Go Join the Ex-Mayors of Seattle"
  November 9, 2011
• Iraq 2007-2011
  September 21, 2011
• Mike McGinn's Bush Moment
  November 16, 2011
• Iraq 2003-2006
  September 21, 2011

More About

• Coalition Provisional Authority
• Baghdad Green Zone
• The Pentagon
• Politics
• Military and Defense Policy

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

info@seattleweekly.com

Jason Vest is a senior correspondent for the American Prospect. His book on the current Bush administration and national security will be published in 2005. This piece was commissioned by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) for use by its members.