Maj. Gen. John Batiste (retired) commanded the Army’s First Infantry Division, both in Iraq and in Kosovo. Before that, he was the senior military assistant to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. He’s now president of Klein Steel Services in Rochester, N.Y.
This guy is really starting to piss me off. For one thing, he has amnesia. Yeah. He’s forgotten how he was the “senior military assistant to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz” at the time that the Liberation of Iraq was planned. Yep. This is probably the number one planner for the invasion.
But it’s all Don Rumsfeld’s fault. [/sarcasm]
This is the guy who wants to cry about the fact that the Iraqi military and police went home. The paperwork disbanding them was just a formality. They’d all gone home. And, it’s easy for him to bitch. He was in Iraq from January 2004 through February 2005, long after the Liberation.
He gives me an unpleasant taste in my mouth. He stands firmly and without reserve for keeping on the job, in power, the police and military who killed hundreds of thousands of their fellow Iraqis during Saddam’s thugocracy. Corrupt, murderous, raping thieves. Yeah, that was what we should have done. [/sarcasm]
Of course he has to drag Haditha in. It’s the script. Abu Ghraib and Haditha. One weekend’s stupidity by an handful of unsupervised soldiers putting panties on criminals’ heads. And a still unproven action by, at most, a handful of Marines in a combat zone. An action, BTW, that continues to unravel in the media as what actually happened becomes less and less clear.
First ID in Iraq – CNN
This is what the good general originally said about his work in Iraq: EUCOM
Batiste reflected on what their year supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom has meant to the division.
“The Soldiers of this great division have once again carried on the legacy of the historic 1st Infantry Division,” Batiste said. “From intense combat operations … to stability and support operations, you did it all, and you did it in spades. Your focus on discipline and standards at every level was apparent. Big Red One Soldiers were renowned for their warfighting tenacity and, at the same time, just as proficient in the business of changing attitudes and giving the Iraqi people alternatives to the insurgency.”
Batiste also acknowledged the division’s partners during the deployment, the Iraqi people.
“Our successes over the past year were not achieved alone. They were achieved by establishing partnerships with the people of Iraq, most notably with the Iraqi security forces,” Batiste said. “Your mentorship, training and equipping empowered Iraqi security forces, and it provided the foundation to help them defeat the insurgency and provide a safe and secure environment.
“Some of the most rewarding moments over the last year were defined by the courage and enthusiasm of the Iraqi people as they served their country,” he added.
Batiste noted the advances and improvements in education, health and public works that the 1st Infantry Division accomplished in partnership with the Iraqis.
“You assisted Iraqi leaders in setting priorities for nearly 2,000 projects worth more than $1 billion, creating jobs for thousands of Iraqis,” Batiste said.
The greatest proof, the general said, was that thanks in large part to the division, Iraqis held successful national elections Jan. 30.
“The Iraqi people demonstrated that their future would not be held hostage,” Batiste said. “I will never forget the images of Iraqis celebrating and proudly displaying their ink-stained fingers.”
Batiste paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the division’s quest to bring self-sufficiency and democracy to Iraq.
“The division’s amazing success in Iraq did not come without a cost,” Batiste said. “We will never forget the 193 1st Infantry Division and Task Force Danger Soldiers who gave their full measure during both OIF I and II. On behalf of all the Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division and the people of our great nation, I want once more to acknowledge their service, sacrifice and the example they set for all of us.”
The only name the General seems willing to utter is Don Rumsfeld’s. It’s as if he has a fixation. Don Rumsfeld has little responsibility for Iraq if General Batiste refuses to have any of his own. It’s his day-to-day decisions that got men killed. It’s his day-to-day decisions that contributed to civilian deaths in his AOR. The buck may stop at the top but tactics are the commander’s decision. John Batiste is to blame for as much death as anyone. Maybe he should shut his piehole.
