In retrospect, the decision to disband the Iraqi army stands out as one of the two or three colossal mistakes that led us to where we are today.
And guess who personally made that call?
According to one official who attended a meeting that Bremer had with his staff upon his arrival in Baghdad in mid-May of 2003, Bremer was warned he would cause chaos by demobilizing the army. The CIA station chief told him, “That’s another 350,000 Iraqis you’re pissing off, and they’ve got guns.”
According to one source who was at the meeting, Garner then asked if they could discuss the matter further in a smaller meeting. Garner then said: “Before you announce this thing let’s do all the pros and cons of this, because we are going to have a hell of a lot of problems with it. There are a hell of a lot more cons than there are pros. Let’s line them all up then get on the phone to [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld.”
Bremer replied: “I don’t have any choice. I have to do this.” Garner then protested further, but Bremer cut him off. “The president told me that de-Baathification comes before the immediate needs of the Iraqi people.”
[Emphasis added.]
President In Charge
Mark Kleiman flags the most damning thing Paul Bremer has said lately. Nevermind whether we should have had more troops on the ground, everyone concedes we should have…but what about the disastrous decision to disband the Iraqi army? Administration o…