Wednesday
Mar042009
Hearts and Minds Alert: How the US Motivates Iraqi Police
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 14:23
Just got this from a reader. There is no indication of the date of this episode (it was posted on 28 January), and the repeated references to "the Mahdi militia" indicate it may have occurred during the heightened tension over the movement of Moqtada al-Sadr in spring 2008. So the American training of Iraqi security forces has moved on from this episode.
Even so, this video is apparently making the rounds of English-speaking elites in the Gulf as an example of the continuing US engagement with the region.
(Warning: Very Graphic Language)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1GrdTakvl8&feature=related[/youtube]
Even so, this video is apparently making the rounds of English-speaking elites in the Gulf as an example of the continuing US engagement with the region.
(Warning: Very Graphic Language)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1GrdTakvl8&feature=related[/youtube]
tagged Iraqi Security Forces, US Military in Iraq
Iraqi Security Forces, US Military in Iraq
Reader Comments (18)
He's acting like a typical drill instructor. Drill instructors scream at recruits, curse them, threaten them, insult them, and so on.
Ahh, yes. But did the Iraqi police know that? And, more importantly, do all those folks in the Middle East watching this video know that? Perhaps this could be packaged with a free copy of Full Metal Jacket....
Cultural miscommunication then? Western militaries nearly dehumanize recruits so they can operate as part of their war-fighting machines. How do they train police and military in the Middle East? No singing Kumbaya in arabic and eating falafels, I'll bet. :)
I think this is more than drill sergeant behaviour. It’s deeply offensive and stupid. He keeps repeating the line that Americans are men and Iraqis are pussies- and treacherous pussies at that. He is motivating them by talking about Iraqis serving Iraq (well he is aware of the rising nationalism in Iraq) but he still talks about Sunnis coming to slaughter the Shia'. It is a symbol of political ignorance to orient military to realities of the battle field, and more important it shows the political lack of intent to correct the mistakes that caused the whole violent chaos…
Well, this IS how a typical drill instructor would talk, and it doesn't really matter if the Iraqis were expecting it or not, that's now how it works at all. They don't "Warn" recruits before they got on the bus to boot camp like "hey buddy, somebody's gonna yell at you, but don't let it hurt your feelings it's just their job." No way! When your job is to shoot or be shot, there's no room for feelings or worrying about someone getting offended.
What we can't do is in any way judge the EFFECTIVENESS, or ineffectiveness if you like, of this video.
For one thing, we don't have a video of the Mehdi Army Commander, or the Quds Advisor, giving these militia members the same speech. This US soldier could be giving them the speech of their lifetimes, or it could be nowhere near as compelling as the same speech by their Militia Commander. No one but them knows.
Second, we have zero performance data on this particular police unit. It could be available, I haven't checked, but we don't know if these IP took the speech to heart and cracked down on the sunni, or if they simply didn't show up to work the next day.
Finally, it's EXTREMELY misleading to say this is how American or "Western" Militaries train their troops. I would like someone to show me an example of an "Eastern" military...like the People's Liberation Army of China, or y'know...Hizb'allah...that actually trains their troops with lots of compliments and positive reinforcement. That's crazy talk. Militaries worldwide, even Firefighters, use this sort of psychological domination in order to firmly implant the notion of perfection and professionalism.
The ethics and morality of this are entirely different issues.
I appreciate your comments UJ. However this isn’t a bunch of raw recruits coming off a bus in Kansas having a bit of banter- the point is that this is in Iraq, is an example of a total lack of political/cultural awareness and its been picked up on, taped and posted around the web. By arrogantly comparing the U.S. and Iraq combined with slurs on Iraqi manhood this guy looks like an idiot and provides plenty of material to be shunted round the web. I wonder what the repercussions have been in the wider M/E (this has been shown on a lot of sites)? I agree he is undoubtedly not representative of the military in Iraq (he probably acts exactly the same towards his U.S. recruits), but through this filtering round the world, he has now become a symbol of it for many folks. Shame, timing sucks.
"....the point is that this is in Iraq, is an example of a total lack of political/cultural awareness and its been picked up on, taped and posted around the web."
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True, but there are many other episodes that have angered Muslims in all lands, of all stripes -- baking Mohammad cookies, political cartoons, making a film, supporting any individual who wishes to leave Islam. Yes, total lack of cultural awareness, and the Muslims in the West as well as those in the Muslims lands are mad as hell about it. So much so that a few individuals face charges in Middle Eastern countries, even though the 'crimes' were not committed in Muslim lands. A drill instructor calling Iraqi recruits a bunch of women is just one insult (as they see it) among many.
loopin,
No, what would be culturally insensitive would be to say that because they are Iraqis, or Arabs or Muslims, that they are somehow (racially???) predisposed to being petty and offended little creatures. They're grown men who volunteered for the Iraqi Police, and for that matter, they're engaging back with the US soldier in an attempt to explain themselves. You seem more offended than they are. They're not Martians, they're just Iraqis.
Dave,
Grow up, not everything is an excuse to dump your insecurities about Islam all over everyone. And anyway, I didn't know calling men "a bunch of women" was a compliment to westerners.
Sorry UJ- i dont think you're getting my point. It aint all about me here! It is irrelevant if I find it offensive. It has even become fairly irrelevant if the Iraqis on the clip, at that point in time, found it offensive but my point was that this has been posted all over the place and has angered a lot of people who HAVE found it culturally/politically insensitive etc etc.... Seriously I dont think they are petty little creatures for that. Anyway the damage is done- and just in time for the election campaign.
loopin,
Good point, sorry for singling you out like that, too.
By the way, just in time for who's election campaign?
sorry typo- i meant to say... And I imagine Press TV will pick up on it also, just in time for the Electoral Campaign. (iran!)
Dave,
Grow up, not everything is an excuse to dump your insecurities about Islam all over everyone. And anyway, I didn’t know calling men “a bunch of women” was a compliment to westerners.
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Okay, if that's the way you see it. Point taken. I will now take my hands off the keyboard and go back to my knitting.
Dave,
Sorry, that was way rude of me, but it just seems that you manage to segue way everything to a gripe with Islam. It just seems inappropriate (along with my rudeness, too, for sure!)
Nice that on a post about hearts and minds I use it as an opportunity to take personal swipes at two different people. The irony isn't lost on me guys, Sorry.
Seriously its cool UJ- it hardly was a personal swipe. no offence taken!!!
No need for apologies. I enjoy reading your posts and blog. We'll just have to add drill instructors to the list along with teddy bears, cookies, Palm Olive commercials, and cartoons....
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59884
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7112929.stm
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=731
"It’s no coincidence that countries with the worst records for respecting the fundamental freedoms of expression, religion and association—including Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan—are those that continue to sponsor these resolutions within the UN system."
Political and cultural ignorance -- It's a two-way street, as you can see in the link above. I'm pretty sure Iraq voted for this resolution.
I have to side with UJ on this one, these guys are in a kill or be killed situation. If they can't accept harsh rhetoric, they won't live long in the field. I think we have gone far past the notion of winning "hearts and minds"...and frankly, our policies are construed to be far more insulting than any particular video, or insulting drill instructor. Anybody who thinks this has had even a negligible effect on our image overseas is a sensationalist, and references it out of convenience.
Josh has given lots of good example...hell, in Russia, the special forces operatives are hazed by their superiors jump kicking their medals into their chest.
I give little credence to the duality, and hypocrisy of outrage that stems from much of the middle east. I doubt the "gulf elite" are so offended by this video that their perception of US intervention has changed one iota...especially considering their own treatment of military personnel is probably not unlike the referenced above.
For some reason I am reminded of a recent quote that I read...
"'Uqab Saqr: "It is ridiculous that we call America a dictatorship because of Abu Ghuraib. In the Arab world, there are 100,000 Abu Ghuraibs, which the rulers use against their own peoples."
The notion that the gulf elite are really truly astonished by this treatment of human beings is fallacious. We aren't talking about Dutch milkmaids for goodness sake.
On another note, Josh is a big asshole, but he knows his shit, so he gets a pass.