General Petraeus Case Study

995 Words2 Pages

In this paper, I will discuss how General Petraeus began the process of bringing life back to a dismal and dilapidated Mosul. Petraeus accomplished this by providing clear direction on how to complete an election process. He led the complicated task under the guidance of ADP 6-0 Mission Command. Which proved to be successful through his constant assessment of the situation.
In 2003, the war-ravaged city of Mosul, Iraq experienced looting and riots on a regular basis. This was due to the fact the Iraq war had just begun and no effort was put into reconciliation yet (Lunberg, 2006). During this time, the city’s overall infrastructure was in a state of decline and the local people were tired and wary.
Prior to General Petraeus arriving in Mosul, Army Special Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga were engaged in fierce fighting in the city. An unstable government and the military occupation of the city were contributing factors for the civil unrest (Lunberg, 2006). To compound this situation, there was no emphasis put on the reestablishment of the Iraqi Government or the rebuilding of the city. Additionally, the main …show more content…

Through his hard work, clear vision of the operational environment, and constant reevaluation of the election process, the elections were held on May 5th, 2003. This resulted in 24 council members and a governor being voted into office. While General Petraeus coincides this is just an interim fix to a bigger problem, it is a step in the right direction for Mosul. There is criticism that the reason this didn’t work elsewhere in Iraq is that the Iraqi government did not support the process. Additionally, General Petraeus enacted policy without the approval of the President, and this would make things difficult (Knowlton, Jr. 2008). Without the approval of the President, he could not garner support from the US to take this to a larger level within

Open Document