Rebuilding Baghdad

In his 15 March 2007 memorandum to MNF-I members, General Petraeus stated, "As you carry out the new approach, I also count on each of you to embrace the warrior-builder-diplomat spirit as we grapple with the demands that securing the population and helping it rebuild will require." My intent with this research paper is to author a reconstruction primer for future "warrior-builder-diplomats." This primer will draw from primary sources for case studies and other evidence to support its thesis and reasons. Furthermore, these sources are texts by experienced counterinsurgent (or insurgent) authors: Chairman Mao Tse-tung, Lieutenant Colonel David Galula, Major General Peter W. Chiarelli, Lieutenant General David H. Petraeus, Carl von Clausewitz and Thomas Hobbes. Reflections on personal experiences rebuilding Baghdad from June 2006 through June 2007 will also be key.