Though we have never met or spoken, my thanks to Dispatches author Michael Herr. His book is required reading for anyone interested in modern conflict. Although presumptively about the Vietnam War, and while many sections speak about specific battles and places in Vietnam, his remains the best book ever written about the personal experience of being in war (Catch-22 is in second place). Dispatches certainly informed my experience in Iraq, and every soldier I could persuade to read it came to the same conclusion. The chapter titles “Inhaling” and “Exhaling” are based on Herr’s and appear in homage to his work.
Not thanks really but a special notice to Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, who led an organization I once cared deeply for into a swamp and abandoned us there. In a sad way, their actions created this book—I just wrote it all down. There was one little hint about how unimportant this all was to the highest levels of even the new management at State. On our last day of PRT training, the facility was put into lockdown for a visit from the new Secretary of State (it’s cool that when she visits her own staff the Secretary’s security puts us into lockdown). She greeted and congratulated the Afghan PRT class down the hall from us Iraqis, then left. We didn’t even rate a walk-on. Our war no longer really mattered, though it would take me a long year in the desert and writing this book to fully figure that out.
About the Author
Peter Van Buren has served with the Foreign Service for over twenty-three years. He received a Meritorious Honor Award for assistance to Americans following the Hanshin earthquake in Kobe, a Superior Honor Award for helping an American rape victim in Japan, and another award for work in the tsunami relief efforts in Thailand. Previous assignments include Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the UK, and Hong Kong. He volunteered for Iraq service and was assigned to ePRT duty 2009–10. His tour extended past the withdrawal of the last combat troops.
Van Buren worked extensively with the military while overseeing evacuation planning in Japan and Korea. This experience included multiple field exercises, plus civil-military work in Seoul, Tokyo, Hawaii, and Sydney with allies from the UK, Australia, and elsewhere. The Marine Corps selected Van Buren to travel to Camp Lejeune in 2006 to participate in a field exercise that included simulated Iraqi conditions. Van Buren spent a year on the Hill in the Department of State’s Congressional Liaison Office.
Van Buren speaks Japanese, Chinese Mandarin, and some Korean. Born in New York City, he lives in Virginia with his spouse, two daughters, and a docile rottweiler. This is his first book.
The American Empire Project
In an era of unprecedented military strength, leaders of the United States, the global hyperpower, have increasingly embraced imperial ambitions. How did this significant shift in purpose and policy come about? And what lies down the road?
The American Empire Project is a response to the changes that have occurred in America’s strategic thinking as well as in its military and economic posture. Empire, long considered an offense against America’s democratic heritage, now threatens to define the relationship between our country and the rest of the world. The American Empire Project publishes books that question this development, examine the origins of U.S. imperial aspirations, analyze their ramifications at home and abroad, and discuss alternatives to this dangerous trend.
The project was conceived by Tom Engelhardt and Steve Fraser, editors who are themselves historians and writers. Published by Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, its titles include Hegemony or Survival and Failed States by Noam Chomsky, The Blowback Trilogy by Chalmers Johnson, The Limits of Power and Washington Rules by Andrew Bacevich, Crusade by James Carroll, Blood and Oil by Michael Klare, Dilemmas of Domination by Walden Bello, Devil’s Game by Robert Dreyfuss, A Question of Torture by Alfred McCoy, A People’s History of American Empire by Howard Zinn, The Complex by Nick Turse, and Empire’s Workshop by Greg Grandin.
For more information about the American Empire Project and for a list of forthcoming titles, please visit www.americanempireproject.com.
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Copyright © 2011 by Peter Van Buren
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Van Buren, Peter.
We meant well : how I helped lose the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people / Peter Van Buren.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9436-7
1. Postwar reconstruction—Iraq. 2. Iraq War, 2003– —Public opinion. 3. United States—Relations—Iraq. 4. Iraq—Relations—United States. 5. Public opinion—Iraq. I. Title.
DS79.769.V36 2011
956.7044'31—dc22 2011008821
First Edition 2011
The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or any other entity of the US government. The Department of State had the chance to review this book in manuscript form before publication, as required by 3 FAM 4170. The Department of State does not approve, endorse, or authorize this book.
With the exception of historical figures (e.g., President Bush, General Odierno), I have changed all names. The events depicted in this book are true, however, although some details have been changed and the timing of some events has been altered or obscured. Except as noted, I was present at any event reported on and at any conversation repeated.
Information from the SIGIR Web site is in the public domain and may be used without further permission, provided such use is not reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by SIGIR. SIGIR did not approve, endorse, or authorize this book.
eISBN 978-1-4299-9523-8
We Meant Well Page 22