Iraq 18 April 2003: Failure to Establish Civil Security Impacts Reconstruction, Public Safety and US Standing.
VIDEO CLIPS: PBS FRONTLINE – BROADCAST 9 OCTOBER 2003
CLIP THREE: LOOTING AND TAXI CRUSHER. Extent of looting surprises US official; Jay Garner realizes that looters have destroyed much of the infrastructure he will need to use to run reconstruction effort. Fuel shortages spark violence; Baghdad residents want US to take control or go home; Jay Garner feels we could have used more troops in Baghdad; US troops seem unsure of what to do and have an unorthodox method of dealing with looters.
Speakers:
Kanan Makiya: Iraqi expat academic and a member of the Iraqi National Congress (an Iraqi expat anti-Saddam political party), Makiya lobbied the US government to invade Iraq in 2003 to oust Hussein on moral grounds. He discusses impact of failure to have an alternative law and order system ready.
LTG(Ret) Jay Garner: retired United States Army lieutenant general appointed in 2003 as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) for Iraq following the 2003 invasion. He had directed Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq after Desert Storm in 1991. Arrived in Baghdad 18 April but was replaced by Ambassador Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) by 12 May. He discusses his surprise at the extent of the looting and how it impacted his reconstruction efforts.
“Taxi Crusher”: Troops are from 1-64 Armor, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mech). Exact Date of Taxi crushing incident unknown beyond summer 2003. A former company commander of this brigade informed the author of this class that the sum total of the guidance received from higher HQ was “stop the looting.”