The Hidden Notes of the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority)

 

'My side, your side and the Hidden side' should be the motto ofthe Bush administration. Its gotten to the point that if the administrationtells us its sunny out, you have to look for a backdrop stretched out above (ormaybe you can actually watch it being stretched). Political scientist PeterMoore, while studying the wartime economy of Iraq, downloaded somedocuments from the CPA's web site,and stumbled upon some "hidden" information. Actually it was Peter's 8year old son that did the stumbling. While waiting to play a computer game on"dad's" laptop, his son was clicking around....

To replicate what my sondid, check "Mark up," under MicrosoftWord's "View" menu. Then, in the "Tools" menu, choose"Track changes," then "Highlight changes," and check the boxmarked "Highlight changes on screen." (This is the procedureapplicable for Word 2004 for Mac; others may vary.)

In doing so, it brought up all sortsof interesting info. (thought to have been deleted)

If you are in a Word document where "Track changes" has been turnedon, hitting "Mark up" will reveal all the deletions and insertionsever made in the document, complete with times, dates and (sometimes) theinitials of the editors. When my son did it, all the deleted passages in adocument with the innocuous name "Administrator's Weekly EconomicReport" suddenly appeared in blue and purple. It was the electronicequivalent of seeing every draft of an author's paper manuscript and all thepenciled changes made by the editors. I soon figured out that with a fewkeystrokes I could see the deleted passages in 20 of the 42 Word documents I'ddownloaded. For an academic like myself it was a small treasure trove, and afterI'd stopped hooting and hollering it took some time before I could convince mystartled son that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Posting sloppily edited documents on an official Web site pales in comparisonto some of the CPA's other mistakes. Its worst miscalculation was probablydissolving the Iraqi military on May 16, 2003, which jump-started the insurgencyby sending 400,000 trained soldiers into the streets without jobs.

In the documents, the author gives six theories for the decline in violence.

One explanation given for the downturn is called "Rounding Up the Bums."It suggests that the U.S. military might have successfully quelled theinsurgency. Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, who commanded the 82nd Airborne inIraq until May 2004, was well known for using aggressive tactics.

A second explanation hinges explicitly on an old ethnic stereotype about howArabs only understand force. The "Crossed the Line" argumentinsists that violence is intrinsic to Arab culture: "[It] is a form ofpolitical discourse as well as being culturally acceptable for settling disputesand scores.

A third explanation, "Occupation Ending," says that theinsurgents are backing off because they think the U.S. is about to depart. Moore'snote: (Four years later, the Bush administration often says any deadline fortroop withdrawal would increase attacks.)

A fourth argument, "ProjectMoney Flowing," embraces an enduring pillar of American foreign policy inthe Middle East. Economic development and free trade, according to the moneytheory, would solve political disputes.

A fifth theory,"Engagement," says that Iraqis have begun to have hope thanks tosustained contact with Americans. "We'll take some credit here. We havebeen engaging widely with ... ex-Baathists, ex-Army. While many are tiring ofthe refrain that if you stay with us things will get better, for some theyactually have improved and that many have given hope to entire groups." Theauthor calls these people "the various groups of losers in the NewIraq."

A final argument for the downturn in attacks offers what brieflylooks like a flash of reality. The "Operational Pause" theory surmisesthat reduced attacks may be a statistical blip. They may increase again as"terrorists" regroup for future fights against the Americans and"other Iraqis." But then the author calls this "a boringtheory," and notes, "There are very few persons we have met whosubscribe to this."

Nowhere in any of these theories, including the "boring" one, doesthe author address the dissolution of the Iraqi Army as a major contributor tothe violence. Nowhere, in fact, does the author seem to know which"bums" or "losers" are attacking the Americans or why.Indeed, the most remarkable passage in the entire deletion is a simple statementby an Iraqi businessman, whom the writer quotes in passing while explaining whyAmerican-induced economic prosperity will end the fighting. "It is nothingpersonal," the Iraqi says. "I like you and believe you could bebringing us a better future, but I still sympathize with those who attack thecoalition because it is not right for Iraq to be occupied by foreign militaryforces." In the world of the CPA circa 2004, first one American glossesover this Iraqi's prophetic words, and then another tries -- unsuccessfully, asit turns out -- to delete them.

As the new way forward continues, so does the never ending billows of smokebeing blown up our asses.

If you would rather go directly to the stories....

The Salon: 'Thesecret Iraq documents my 8-year-old found' and 'Theviews of Iraq you weren't supposed to see'