By All Accounts, the military planning for Operation Iraqi Freedom was magnificent. American air superiority and new smart bomb technologies supported a lightning-fast coalition ground force. In less than a month after the initial assaults, coalition forces swept through ghost-like Iraqi defensive positions to take Baghdad and topple the Saddam Hussein regime.
The plans for peace, however, seem to be nonexistent. An estimated $60 billion was spent to precipitate a regime change in Iraq. The assumptions, widely held in Washington, that the Iraqi people would greet the American forces as "liberators" have been proved wrong as looters and guerrilla elements have created ongoing security problems. The spending continues at a rate of $4 billion per month to stabilize the country during the post-war political power vacuum, while spokesmen for the Bush Administration talk of indefinite tours of duty for American troops in Iraq.
Meanwhile the Iraqi people, coalition forces, and the international community are looking for leadership in post-war Iraq. What is our nation building strategy? What is our timetable for democracy in Iraq? When can we withdraw American troops? How will the Iraqi people survive after the devastation of three wars in the past 25 years?
In Reconstructing Eden, Thomas E. White, Secretary of the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom, along with three political and economic experts from CountryWatch, provide a detailed review of the events leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as a comprehensive plan for nation building in Iraq. The Authors answer the tough questions posed above and offer objectives associated with successful nation building in Iraq. They provide specific plans for political and economic development, as well as a forecast for the Iraqi economy, including the petroleum sector.
Thomas E. White Mr. White is the former Secretary of the Army. He was nominated by President Bush, confirmed by the US Senate and served from May of 2001 to May of 2003. Mr. White holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an M.S. in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Robert C. Kelly Mr. Kelly is Chairman and CEO of CountryWatch, Inc. He is an expert in stabilization aid in post-war developing economies. Mr. Kelly has a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an M.P.A. and Ph.D in Economics from Harvard University.
John M. Cape Mr. Cape is a Senior VP of CountryWatch and Editor of the CountryWatch Forecast. The CountryWatch Forecast provides a detailed macroeconomic forecast for each of the 192 countries in the world. Mr. Cape holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Denise Youngblood-Coleman Ms. Youngblood-Coleman is a VP and Editor of CountryWatch Country Review and the Country Wire. Ms. Youngblood-Coleman is a cultural anthropologist and holds a B.A. from King's University; and an M.A. from Rice University where she is also a Ph.D Candidate in Anthropology.
