Iraq: Dealing With The Desertion Disease

I love how much the Iraqis have changed for the better over the last few years. It is a wonderful thing to see!

Iraq: Dealing With The Desertion Disease: "Fighting is heaviest in the main Mahdi Army areas in Baghdad ('Sadr City') and Basra. U.S. troops have assisted by providing aerial reconnaissance and manpower to cordon off the battle areas. Everyone, except the foreign media, has been pleased with the performance of the Iraqi police and troops. But this was viewed differently overseas, where much was made by the foreign media, when the government fired 1,300 soldiers and police for deserting or refusing to fight. Locally, this is seen as tremendous progress. The Iraqi army and police have a long tradition of, well, bugging out when the going gets tough. Remember that the Iraqi army largely melted away in the face of the U.S. and British invaders in 2003. In 1991, about a third of the Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait in 1990-91, deserted by the time coalition troops attacked in January, 1991. During the 1980s war with Iran, desertion was such a pervasive problem that Saddam had to come up with some novel techniques (think 'carrot and stick' on steroids) to deal with it. Even before Saddam, Iraqi reluctance to stick around once the fighting begins, was just considered another national characteristic. But five years of troops selection and training have changed that attitude considerably."