Thread: Iraq: Count On The Cavalry

New York Post
September 13, 2005

Iraq: Count On The Cavalry

By Ralph Peters

Perhaps the only blessing of Hurricane Katrina was that the media, smelling blood at home, reduced their attacks on our efforts in Iraq. Meanwhile, over the past few weeks, our troops conducted one of the finest operations since the fall of Baghdad.

The city of Tal Afar near the Syrian border had become a terrorist refuge. Foreign fanatics wanted to turn it into a new Fallujah. But they repeated a mistake they've increasingly made: They alienated the local population.

Tal Afar needed a clean-up. But it had to be done cleverly. Fallujah was a fortress. Tal Afar was a city held hostage. Firepower had to be used wisely. Leveling Tal Afar wasn't the answer.

Enter our 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Teaming up with the 3rd Iraqi Division, the 3rd ACR faced the mission of defeating the terrorists without destroying the city.

In addition to the finest soldiers in the world — our own — and Iraqis willing to fight for their country, we had another ace in our tactical pocket: a brilliant regimental commander of a distinctly American breed.

Col. H. R. McMaster planned to take the city in stages. A tough fighter when he has to be, McMaster is also the sort of leader who never wastes a life. With Iraqi troops leading many of the tactical actions, the 3rd ACR bit chunks out of the city until all that was left was a sprawling neighborhood stronghold of international terrorists.

Even then, McMaster and his team didn't want to win the battle but lose the population's future support. In a fight like Fallujah, you have to do it fast and hard, but in Tal Afar there was time to draw the civilians away from the pockets of resistance.

When the operation climaxed last weekend, the combined U.S.-Iraqi forces had captured hundreds of terrorists, killing more than 150. Half a dozen terror chiefs lay dead. One American soldier fell in combat. The nationalist Iraqis lost a few men, too. There are fights when casualties can't be avoided. But a good commander knows the difference.

Col. McMaster understood his enemy, his own forces and the civilians caught in between. He was playing chess, not checkers. The end result: Our forces entered the last quarter of the city virtually unopposed. The terrorists not yet captured or killed had fled. And Tal Afar is free.

Inevitably, we'll hear complaints about terrorists getting away. But the few who did escape were a small cost to pay for preserving most of the city. Every battle has its own terms. You've got to know when to hold your fire, and when to kill everything that moves. Restraint is the hard part.

For all his abilities on the battlefield, McMaster has another side that may surprise civilians: Far from the swaggering, blustering commander Hollywood loves to mock, he's a soldier-scholar with a doctorate in history. He's also the author of the most respected book written by any military officer of his generation — "Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to the Vietnam War." It's a courageous book. Soldiers read it. But McMaster rarely mentions it.

During his months in Iraq, he surely felt a sense of déjà vu, given the tragic similarities between the McNamara and Rumsfeld Pentagons. But Iraq isn't Vietnam. The stakes are higher, for one thing. For another, we're winning. Thanks to leaders like H. R. McMaster and American soldiers like the troopers of the 3rd ACR.

Nor was Tal Afar another operation in which our troops did all the heavy lifting: The Iraqis fighting beside us performed professionally, standing up in the line of fire for their new government.

And the Western media continues to insist that Iraq will fail. Although the noise level dropped in Katrina's wake, we're being warned that Iraq's Sunni Arabs, registering in large numbers, are going to vote against the draft constitution.

Wait a minute — isn't that what democracy's about? A few months ago, the media's complaint was that the Sunni Arabs wouldn't participate in elections. Well, they intend to participate this time. And if they vote down the draft constitution, maybe Iraq will disintegrate. But there's also a good chance that the Sunni Arabs will see that democracy works and join the political battle, instead of battling with bombs.

We must stop being impatient with the Iraqis and insisting that their every effort is doomed. Despite great difficulties, the Iraqis continue to move their country forward. Not one of the "expert" claims that Iraq would fail has yet come true.

So what's happening in Iraq while recovery efforts from Katrina also defy the doomsayers? A combined U.S.-Iraqi force cleaned out the terrorist base at Tal Afar with remarkably low losses. Sunni-Arab "rejectionists" are preparing to join other Iraqis at the polls. International terrorists have become hated in Iraq. The number of tip-offs we receive has soared. And the country just plain refuses to fall apart.

At this rate, the media may have to send the mayor of New Orleans to Iraq. Just to foul things up and make some headlines.

Ouch! That last line surely has to leave a mark!

Ralph Peters is the author of the new book "New Glory, Expanding America's Global Supremacy."