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Good Intentions Gone Bad NEWSWEEK's Baghdad bureau chief, departing after two years of war and Ame rican occupation, has a few final thoughts. Hard roads: Marines search for mines and IEDs on a remote desert track ne ar the Syrian border with Iraq Scott Nelson / WPN for Newsweek Hard roads: Marines search for mines and IEDs on a remote desert track ne ar the Syrian border with Iraq By Rod Nordland Newsweek June 13 issue - Two years ago I went to Iraq as an unabashed believer in toppling Saddam Hussein. WM Ds or no, ridding the world of Saddam would surely be for the best, and America's good intentions would carry the day. A lot, b ut the biggest turning point was the Abu Ghraib scandal. Since April 200 4 the liberation of Iraq has become a desperate exercise in damage contr ol. The abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib alienated a broad swath of the Iraqi public. There is no evidence that all the mistreatment and humiliation saved a single American life or led to the capture of any major terrorist, despite claims by the military t hat the prison produced "actionable intelligence."
The most shocking thing about Abu Ghraib was not the behavior of US tro ops, but the incompetence of their leaders. Against the conduct of the L ynndie Englands and the Charles Graners, I'll gladly set the honesty and courage of Specialist Joseph Darby, the young MP who reported the abuse . That's why you need competen t officers, who know what the men and women under their command are capa ble ofand make sure it doesn't happen. Living and working in Iraq, it's hard not to succumb to despair. At last count America has pumped at least $7 billion into reconstruction project s, with little to show for it but the hostility of ordinary Iraqis, who still have an 18 percent unemployment rate. Basic services like electricity, water and sewers still aren't up to prewar levels. Ele ctricity is especially vital in a country where summer temperatures comm only reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet only 15 percent of Iraqis have re liable electrical service. In the capital, where it counts most, it's on ly 4 percent. The most powerful army in human history can't even protect a two-mile str etch of road. The Airport Highway connects both the international airpor t and Baghdad's main American military base, Camp Victory, to the city c enter. At night US troops secure the road for the use of dignitaries; they close it to traffic and shoot at any unauthorized vehicles. More tr oops and more helicopters could help make the whole country safer. Inste ad the Pentagon has been drawing down the number of helicopters. They couldn't stop the orgy of looting that followed Saddam's fall. Now their primary mission is sel f-defense at any costwhich only deepens Iraqis' resentment. The four-square-mile Green Zone, the one place in Baghdad where foreigner s are reasonably safe, could be a showcase of American values and abilit ies. Instead the American enclave is a trash-strewn wasteland of Mad Max -style fortifications. The traffic lights don't work because no one has bothered to fix them. Some of the wor st ambassadors in US history are the GIs at the Green Zone's checkpoin ts. They've repeatedly punched Iraqi ministers, accidentally shot at vis iting dignitaries and behave (even on good days) with all the courtesy o f nightclub bouncersto Americans and Iraqis alike. They're overworked, much ignored on the home front and widely despised in Iraq, with little to look forward to but the distant end of their toursand in most cases, another tour s oon to follow. Many are reservists who, when they get home, often face t he wreckage of careers and family. Iraq now has an elected government, popular at least among Shiites and Kurds, who give it strong approval ratings. T here's even some hope that the Sunni minority will join the constitution al process. Iraqi security forces continue to get better trained and equ ipped. But Iraqis have such a long way to go, and there are so many ways for things to get even worse. I'm not one of those who think America sh ould pull out immediately. There's no real choice but to stay, probably for many years to come. All I can say is this: last one out, please turn on the lights.
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