Why the Americans are loosing in Iraq

As some of you may know I am in and out of Iraq on a fairly frequent basis. I have been operating in the country for almost a year now, with the majority of my time spent in Baghdad. During this time I have seen a steady decline in the security situation here, to the extent where now it would be suicide for me to venture out on the streets without a weapon and back up. A stark change from when in January 04 I would regularly eat lunch at one of the many cafes in Baghdad.

You may ask yourself how things have become so bad in a reletively short period of time. Could it be that the insurgents in the region are more organised?. Maybe it is that there are more and more foreign fighters coming into the country?. Well......in my opinion there is one main reason that America is loosing in Iraq.......THE AMERICAN ARMY!

I have given this a lot of thought and here are some of my observations regarding the soldiers on the ground here:

1/ Very few have any form of previous combat experience in a counter insurgency situation.

2/ Large numbers come across as being very arrogant and very dumb.

3/ There appears to be very little leadership or supervision at squad/team level.

4/ An attitude of "I want to kill someone before I leave Iraq" is prevalent.

5/ They have no regard for human life, apart from their own.

6/ Without their vehicles they appear to be unable to operate in any capacity what so ever.

7/ The Rules of Engagement are completely ignored every day.

8/ Some appear to have had no schooling or education of any kind.

9/ There is no desire to try to understand the customs or indeed the people of Iraq.

10/ Many come from National Guard units, who simply are not up to the job out here.

11/ None of them appear to be aware of any plan to bring stability to the country.

Right......I think that thats enough to be getting on with!. What has brought on this outburst????....well I will tell you.

Today at 14.15 I was returning from Baghdad International Airport, having dropped a client at the terminal. I was lead vehicle in a 2 vehicle convoy, with both vehicles being low profile saloon cars.

Ahead was a HumV patrol, so in accordance with SOPs we kept a distance of 200 meters. After following this patrol for a mile or so at 30 MPH the civilian traffic on the road became bunched, with my 2 vehicles in lane 3 of a 3 lane highway.

My second vehicle radioed that there were more Humv's approaching at speed from our rear in lane 3. Both our vehicles began to force our way (safely) into lane 2 to make way for this new patrol. At this point my vehicle was rammed from the rear by the lead HumV. At the same time there was a loud bang on the roof of my vehicle, which at first I thought was as a result of US gunfire. It transpired that the top gunner in the lead HumV had thrown a projectile at our car. We were then rammed again as we pulled into a space that had appeared in lane 2.

I then placed the Union Jack in our windscreen to indicate that we were a 'friendly' security patrol. The Top gunners laughed and sped off, but not before they had rammed 2 other Iraqi vehicles.

This is an example of a typical US Army patrol in Baghdad.

Thank god that the Americans liberated Iraq from a dictatorship!

Can you back this up a bit? I dont have any reason NOT to believe you, but you have an back up so we can be sure? There is so much "junk" posted here sometimes you can undertsand why I ask for some substance. Photo's? Credentials? Links?

I'm sorry what you see is what you get. I don't play games, however I sure that there are a few people on this site who remember some of my posting on this site last time I was over here.

For give me for asking, but are you some kind of reporter?
Why are you there? You obviously don't belong to the British army because you had to show the union jack to show you were British.

You mentioned that most people know of you. I apologise , but i don't think i have had the pleasure in debating any posts with you. I suppose i could be wrong.

How about enlightening the few of us who don't know much about what you do?

Can you supply us with any photos? I'm sure that being over there in a war zone you would have taken some.

I am interested in what you say, and to a certain extent i believe what you describe, but as i have asked, could you supply photos?

Play games? Asking for substance to back up your claim is playing games? Um�I think what I am looking for is to rule OUT that you are playing games. If you don�t feel comfortable backing up your statement just say so. Then, as people read your post they can take that into account when they form their opinion about what you posted.

I mean, without any backup you can type anything you want. Heck, I just became Prince Charles. Hi everybody, I am Prince Charles.

Do you believe that I am Prince Charles now? I did type it after all, must be true. I don�t play any games so you have to believe what I type.

That�s your logic? That�s not playing games?

My logic is not to get involved in having to justify myself to 14 year old army cadets sitting in front of their parents computers.

I joined this site to debate and to try to enlighten folk as to what occurs out here on a daily basis.

Take it, or leave it and move on.

[edit on 20/10/2004 by BillyTheCat]

Originally posted by BillyTheCat
My logic is not to get involved in having to justify myself to 14 year old army cadets sitting in front of their parents computers.

I joined this site to debate and to try to enlighten folf as to what occurs out here on a daily basis.

Take it, or leave it and move on.

I take it the above remark wasn't aimed at me..

Bikereddie in answer to your question I am a Security Operator advising a large well known media company based in Baghdad.

Its OK Billy, its just that your post is just a post by anybody at this point. Without any back up I file you under my "Questionable" poster list and treat your posts accordingly. I.e. no credit, just personal opinion/speculation. If you are comfortable with that then everything is fine.

Just to let you know, other posters and info sources I have in this catregory:
-Mokuhadzushi
-Jihadunspun.com

So, I have moved on, now that I am secure that your post is just unfounded opinion and speculation.





[edit on 6-12-2004 by skippytjc]

Originally posted by BillyTheCat
Bikereddie in answer to your question I am a Security Operator advising a large well known media company based in Baghdad.

Thanks for the reply..

Sorry for badgering you, but do you have any photos?

Your job sounds interesting. I don't suppose you could enlighten us with the media company you are advising?

With a name like 'bikereddie' I assume that you are NOT a 14 year old army cadet??? But obviously you would have to prove that to me before you read any more of my posts LOL.

No it was aimed at the other youngster.

Originally posted by BillyTheCat
With a name like 'bikereddie' I assume that you are NOT a 14 year old army cadet??? But obviously you would have to prove that to me before you read any more of my posts LOL.

No it was aimed at the other youngster.

LMAOOOOOO
noooooo im a 40 year old with a son who is serving over there at moment.

He is due home on the 13th of this month..
So you can see why i am interested in what you do and any info you may have etc.

And I am also not 14 years old. I am a 34 year old professional and a happily married father. But that hardly means anything. But if Billy posts it, it must be true. I guess thats means I am 14 now...

Understood Eddie. Found this site on my last tour out here and went through all the 'Walter Mitty' stuff then!

I'm also 40 (do you still live in the 1980'S??) and am former Royal Marine Commandos and ex UK Police.

I don't post pictures on any sites, but would be happy to answer any questions that only someone would know the answer to if he had been out here i.e. your son?

I got to admit that I'm still 18 at heart

Originally posted by BillyTheCat
Understood Eddie. Found this site on my last tour out here and went through all the 'Walter Mitty' stuff then!

I'm also 40 (do you still live in the 1980'S??) and am former Royal Marine Commandos and ex UK Police.

I don't post pictures on any sites, but would be happy to answer any questions that only someone would know the answer to if he had been out here i.e. your son?

Once he gets home i will get all sorts of info out of him. At the moment i have no idea where he is (obvious reasons) but i look forward to your replies.


I suppose i do live in the 80's still... sad eh? lol heavy meatal , bikes. (still ride) oh to be young again

Originally posted by skippytjc
Can you back this up a bit? I don't have any reason NOT to believe you, but you have an back up so we can be sure? There is so much "junk" posted here sometimes you can understand why I ask for some substance. Photo's? Credentials? Links?

I think we established in several other post that Billy The Cat is indeed in Iraq working for a Union Jack type media company.

I don't believe that you can say the troops are uneducated. You have to at least graduate from high school to enlist in the US military. I think the whole problem goes back to asking soldiers to act like policemen and settle disputes. Soldiers are trained to kill and conquer. They do this job very well. Trying to get them to wear different hats is what's causing the problem.

Well if US soldiers are well educated why would most refuse to learn even simple Arabic phrases such as "Good morning" and use the excuse that "I'm only here for a year" as a reason not to even attempt to learn anything about the people or customs of the country?. Sorry, but this does not indicate to me that they are educated to any great degree.

Many of the US troops I have spoken with stated that they joined the Army to "Get some education" to allow them to be more employable in a civilian occupation.

There is a VERY noticable differance between the avarage American soldier when operating alongside his UK counterpart. Mainly in that A British soldier will make much more of an effort to interact and empathise with the local population.

At the end of the day you do not win hearts and minds by openly calling folk "Camel Jockeys" or "Ragheads". If thats what you think of a person or a race, then common sense surely must tell you to keep it to yourself?

I have worked alongside all arms of the US forces in the past and found the avaerage American serviceman to be polite, amiable and professional. This is now no longer the case.

skippy...my comments re 14 years olds may have been unfounded in your case, but were the reason I stopped posting on a large Military Forums site. Having now spent years in many of the worlds crap holes, both as a serviceman and security operator, I would become totally p****d off by others who would constantly insist I 'prove' who I was. Invariably these folk would turn out to be members of various cadet forces!

In your case I apologise.

Originally posted by BillyTheCat At this point my vehicle was rammed from the rear by the lead HumV. At the same time there was a loud bang on the roof of my vehicle, which at first I thought was as a result of US gunfire. It transpired that the top gunner in the lead HumV had thrown a projectile at our car. We were then rammed again as we pulled into a space that had appeared in lane 2.

I then placed the Union Jack in our windscreen to indicate that we were a 'friendly' security patrol. The Top gunners laughed and sped off, but not before they had rammed 2 other Iraqi vehicles.

This is an example of a typical US Army patrol in Baghdad.

I don't doubt you but you should start keeping a video camera rolling whenever you go out and there are troops on the road. For some people, if they don't see it happen, they wont believe it happened.