Iraq has just two ports, Umm Qasr and Az Zubayr, in the south near Basra. Combined they generate 97% of the nation’s revenue. Both are connected to the Persian Gulf by the polluted Shatt Al Arab waterway, which in lawless recent years has become a major artery for smugglers sneaking weapons, livestock and crude oil to and from Iran.
Cracking down on these smugglers is a major priority of coalition and Iraqi forces. To this end, the Iraqi Navy patrols the Gulf end of the waterway in Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats and Fast Aluminum Boats — that is, when they’ve got enough diesel fuel and spares for their boats’ motors. British Army Royal Engineers attached to 20 Armored Brigade employ similar craft to patrol the waterway between the coalition’s two major downtown Basra bases, while infantry conduct foot patrols and man observation posts along the banks to spot smugglers’ mooring points.
Elsewhere in Iraq, the U.S. military — having abandoned so-called brown-water warfare after Vietnam — has found itself ill-prepared to conduct these kinds of waterway patrols, leading to ad hoc measures like arming engineer boats normally used for emplacing ribbon bridges. The Navy’s new riverine force, recently stood up at Little Creek, Virginia, will eventually take over from units pressed into river patrol duty, hopefully with the positive results you’d expect of a dedicated force.
It’s just another example of relearning in Iraq lessons we forgot after Vietnam.
–David Axe
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huh. we seem to have forgotten that there is no “win“ing of a war against indiginous, dedicated, guerilla forces, of whatever technical level. You must either kill them all, and their rising vengeful generations, or walk away from the conflict.
and so far, we’ve spent thousands of iraqi civilian lives, iraqi “insurgent” lives, thousands of U.S and allied lives, and a half Trillion dollars.….just to get to the “walk away, with our tails between our legs” next step…
Dont be so pessimistic compbell. Your sound like one of those kids who always has a bad view on everything. You cant walk away from everything with your tail between your legs.
It’s a good thing you reminded me about that, campbell. Otherwise I wouldn’t have forgotten that al-Qaida in Iraq is the most hated organization in the country, the unity government has a better approval rating than the President of the United States, the Iraqi Army is 300,000 strong, and that despite a year of everyone hoping it would happen, Iraq has not yet fallen into a catastrophic civil war.
But you’re right. Can’t be beat. I see the error of my ways.
You either support our government and those elected or vote them out when their term is over. So far President Bush has stayed the course on tracking down terrorists that struck this country on 9/11. Bill Clinton had a weak record on military affairs and did not have the fortitude to initiate any action that would have curtailed what happened later. While I don’t claim to know everything, I know that Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush did more to ensure the U.S. military was kept at a strength and equipment level that no democrat has done.
1) There are many lessons of Vietnam we forgot, starting with gun trucks, and going on to MAT Teams (I was on one), CAP Platoons, and the like. Having a few guntrucks organic to every transport company might have prevented the Jessica Lynch ambush.
2) The Navy didn’t forget the riverine force, it appears to have gone out of its way to obliterate the memory. Congress loves big — carriers, submarines, cruiser-sized “destroyers”, etc. More pork for the voters. Also, more slots for admirals.
3) That said, what is missing from the story is free trade, i.e., no tariffs, so no smuggling of normal goods. No economic smuggling means fewer experienced smugglers, and it also means that every smuggler is a hostile, not just your normal criminal.
“Dont be so pessimistic compbell. Your sound like one of those kids who always has a bad view on everything. You cant walk away from everything with your tail between your legs.“
Oh no, you’re selling him short. Campbell easily has the ability to walk away from everything with his tail between his legs.