Damage Report: Marine Eric Navarro

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ERIC NAVARRO'S MEMOIR of his time in Iraq, "God Willing: My Wild Ride With the New Iraqi Army," is extremely crude.

But that's not the only reason it's an eye-opening, disturbing and disheartening look at Iraq.

Navarro, a Marine sent to train the new Iraqi army, encountered countless barriers during his '04-'05 tour, and the resulting book is a tragic comedy in which the protagonist is constantly getting shelled and shot at and is obsessed with Iraqi bowel movements.

The combat vet sees the vast differences between Iraqi and American approaches to restroom etiquette as emblematic of the cultural chasm between the occupiers and the occupied, and his book reads like a list of reasons why the U.S. should not be in Iraq.

Navarro writes that he went to Fallujah in December 2004, had little access to a translator and was shelled almost immediately after arriving. Months of chaos ensued, and Navarro writes that his mission was severely undermanned and that the behavior of the Iraqi army was almost entirely disappointing.

"God Willing" is full of familiar military catch-22s, bitterness, confusion and fear of going native.

So it's amazing to hear Navarro on the phone now, saying that we should leave our troops in Iraq — and that it will likely take the U.S. 20 years to finish the job.

What changed his perception so radically?

A second tour.

"Vast improvement. Vast," Navarro reported recently. "I did not personally get shot at once, which was unreal. Progress all across the board. I was able to see that Americans learn from their mistakes. Part of my book points out that during my first tour, the American effort behind the advisers was not there. Well, now it is. We've learned that it is truly the main effort [and] we're putting a lot more resources into those adviser teams. However, the Iraqis still have a ways to go. There is progress. They're setting up municipal governments, they're taking control of their own lives.

"It looks like a lot of the Iraqis that we talked to have hope for the future," he continued. "That was completely nonexistent in 2005."

"There are signs of progress, and it shows that if we put our mind to it, with the right strategy and the right leaders, we can actually accomplish this, but it'll take a long time. Anyone that thinks we are going to withdraw anytime soon — or that we should — is not being very realistic. We can leave. And then it will just completely implode. ... I was in Haditha, which is northwest of where I was last time. Haditha, interestingly enough, is the site of the widely reported incident where civilians were killed. I mean, I drove by the site and, again, now that town is flourishing, [it's] pro-American and working with us. I mean, it's an amazing turnaround considering that was one of the epicenters of anti-coalition sentiment. It's pretty interesting to see the turnaround."

Express spoke with Navarro about staying the course, homosexuality in Iraq and the new Iraqi Army. He'll further discuss his new book on May 6 at noon at the Library of Congress.

» EXPRESS: What would you say to someone who says this book is old news, because it's set in 2005?
» NAVARRO: Oh, absolutely not, because training the Iraqis is the primary mission and will continue to be for the foreseeable future and as long as our troops are there. We are no longer in the business of hunting down and killing the enemy by ourselves. Every single mission right now is a joint mission. Anytime Americans forces go out on a mission, they are bringing along a partner Iraqi unit. So, the Iraqis' performance is as timely as ever.

In fact, it's even more timely, because until they can actually develop, I don't think we're even gonna be able to draw down our forces. That's why you see in the recent comments by General Petraeus: they don't want to continue with the draw-down, yet. Partially, I think that's based on what they assess the Iraqis' performance or operational capabilities to be.

Just two or three weeks ago there was a battle of Basra that was supposed to be a completely Iraqi Army operation. Prime Minister Malaki flew down there. He is the one that led the operation and, from what I'm hearing, the Iraqis didn't perform that well. In the New York Times, there is a story of a thousand of them refusing to fight, or leaving. This is directly tied to my experiences in 2005. You're seeing the same themes persisting.

The story is actually more timely than ever, because two weeks ago I saw a front-page story on the Iraqi Army's performance. And I think when people read that without having read my book, they wonder, "What is the Iraqis' problem? Why are they having so much difficulty?"

I focus on the Insha'Allah [God Willing] concept. No Americans have really understood that or heard about that yet.

» EXPRESS: Right. And what do you mean when you write about "the Iraqi insanity"?
» NAVARRO: Basically it seemed like the Iraqis' behavior was not always following logic. There was a lack of reason behind a lot of their behaviors and I attributed to their Insha'Allah concept — the belief that God is literally responsible for anything that happens in their entire life. So, when we're doing target practice, if they miss the target, in their mind it's not because they're poor in marksmanship or they didn't do enough training — it's because God didn't want them to hit the target.

That is completely outside our ideas of logic and [the] reason[s] behind our actions, and free will, and all of that. It applies to every aspect of their lives. Not to be too crude, but the [random] crapping in the rooms was, to me, outside of normal human behavior. If you put it all together, it seems like a pretty insane place.

» EXPRESS: At the end of your book, you write that we'll have to be in Iraq for a minimum of 20 years. Do you still agree with that assessment?
» NAVARRO: Absolutely — more than ever. What I saw in this last tour was proof that if we stay, it will work out. That's what's so frustrating about hearing politicians talk about withdrawal. There's no question Americans can get the job done — when we want to get the job done — but right now our country's divided as to what our goals are and whether we should be there. So, until our country comes together, our politicians come together, it's gonna be a struggle.

» EXPRESS: That's an interesting perspective. Most Americans think that we should pull our troops out, but obviously people who have spent a lot of time there have a more valuable perspective. Can you elaborate on why you think we should leave our troops there?
» NAVARRO: Well, if the goal is to protect ourselves by expanding our reach — to project our power — to project our influence throughout the region and eventually, hopefully, democratize the region to prevent it from being radical and violent toward it neighbors and towards us, then we should stay. The question I would ask anyone who's calling for withdrawal is, "When did we leave Germany, Japan and Korea?" The answer is, "Never." We are still there. We have permanent bases there. Those countries are all strong allies, and we are able to project our power in all those regions as a result.

So, that is what we should be doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, to project our power throughout the entire region. Anyone who thinks we're gonna withdraw and then things are gonna be hunky-dory is just fooling themselves, because I've talked to Iraqis who will say this in private: If Americans leave, it's gonna all fall apart. There's too many sectarian rifts right now. There's also Turkey, in the north, and Iran obviously with the Shiites, and you think that Saudi Arabia and some of the other Sunni countries are gonna stand by and watch Shiites slaughter Sunnis? There's no way that's gonna happen.

» EXPRESS: Do you think the Iraqis want us to stay another 20 years?
» NAVARRO: Yes, I do. Most of them I've talked to recognized, and will tell you, that if we leave, it will go up in flames. They have no illusions. Sunnis and Shiites will go at it and then the outside countries will probably invade. So, I think they recognize that their security is tied to our presence.

» EXPRESS: Your book says that you saw a lot of homosexual sex among the Iraqi troops. Do you care to elaborate on that?
» NAVARRO: I did not witness any acts, because I did not want to, but I asked the interpreters, I asked some of the soldiers and, privately, they admitted that a large number of the Iraqis were partaking in homosexual activity.

And I don't have a problem with that at all. What I have a problem with is the larger issue: These are the same people who preach that they have to live their lives according to what Allah is saying. That seems like the classic hypocrisy in a lot of religious doctrine. That was the larger point behind pointing that out. They drink liquor, they watch porn, they have homosexual sex — I mean, these are all things that totally go against the tenets of their religion.

It's showing that they're still human beings and that they still live according to their normal frailties and desires and what have you. So, when they're preaching that God is all-powerful and is directing all of their actions, I think a lot of times it's a front. It covers up the unpleasantries of life, I guess.

So, that's the main reason for pointing that out. Plus, just being confronted by something like that, I was shocked. I did not expect something like that.

» EXPRESS: Are there other things you think our readers should know that we haven't touched on?
» NAVARRO: One last point: I would say that my tour is almost a microcosm of our entire effort, both in Iraq and in the global war on terrorism, because it's Americans with good intentions, trying to do the right thing, coming into contact with roadblocks caused by cultural interpretations or religious interpretations.

And it's across the board — the same thing with Afghanistan. I talked to people that were advisers in Afghanistan. They tried to show an Afghan soldier how to use a Porta-John. They put him in there. He came out and his entire lower half was covered in the blue liquid, because he had stepped inside the hole, thinking that's how you have to use it. So, it's not just Iraqis that have these kinds of difficulties. It's a broader question.

» Library of Congress, Room LM 139, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. SE; Tues., noon, free; 202-707-5000. (Capitol South)

Written by Express contributor Tim Follos
Photos courtesy Potomac Books