An interesting story from Military.com about “a novel plan to undercut the insurgency by drying up its base of hardened fighters.” The operation is run by Marine General Doug Stone, and there is also an audio interview that accompanies the piece.
After assuming command of detainee operations in May, Stone put together a novel program that aims to separate the moderate Iraqis that have been detained during combat operations from the “dead-ender” extremists who he believes are unable to be swayed. Stone’s troops put detainees through a battery of questioning that’s more than just a typical interrogation. They’re looking for information on education, job history, criminal record, religious motivations and aptitude – all in hopes of developing an alternative to going back to their insurgent ways. After separating the hard-cores from the moderates, Stone plies the detainees with vocational training, counseling and religion classes run by Iraqi imams to divert their energies into embracing an Iraq without today’s sectarian rift…. Though the situation at one time seemed intractable, Stone is beginning to see some success with his plan. In the past, as many as 7 percent of detainees who were eventually released found their way back into the camps. But since the beginning of 2007, less than 2 percent of the 4,000 detainees released have returned – and none of those are graduates of the new program.
Stone adds, “I have not approached it from the perspective that it is warehousing . . . have approached it as a battlespace . . . that needs to be in sync with the greater strategy that Gen. Petraeus has laid out.”
