December 26, 2005
Exclusive to JRTelegraph: Brian Golden from Brighton to Baghdad and Back
Brian Golden, our former state representative from Brighton, MA, US Army Reserve major and a great friend of the Russian Jewish community of Boston, returned in October after the seven months of active duty in Iraq. Greg Margolin, Editor and Publisher of the Jewish Russian Telegraph talked to Brian.
GM: Brian, it is great to have you back from Iraq. Tell us, what did you do there?
BG: I worked with Army General George W. Casey, also from Allston, on monitoring detention facilities in Iraq. We worked closely with the Red Cross. Currently, we detain around 12,000 people in Iraq, and we have to review cases every six months. Actually, we reviewed cases more often, every three to four months. I had to review about 100 cases per day and make decision whether to release a person or continue detention. It was a very daunting task, and we had to take a long and hard look at each case. I have many more gray hairs after this job, but it has to be done. We would be morally bankrupt if we did not have an objective standard for the decision to release or keep a detainee.
GM: Was it dangerous to be in Iraq?
BG: It was certainly dangerous. It is dangerous for anybody in U.S uniform. It also depends on where you are geographically. Baghdad, North and Central Iraq are dangerous. That's where I spent most of my time. When you are stationary at a base you get mortar fire, small weapon's fire is also thrown at you all the time. Being on the road is also very dangerous. But our teams are very skilled. Drivers are skilled. Now, we know how to use intelligence much better. Whether you live on a base, or travel you are always expose to IED -- improvised explosive devices. You see plumes of smoke on a regular basis. You are also exposed to VBIEDs.
GM: What is a VBIED?
BG: This is a vehicle borne improvised explosive device -- a fancy word for a car bomb. Luckily, most of our 160,000 troops in Iraq are not close enough to these explosions.
GM: Are we winning in Iraq?
BG: A fair assessment, a look at the effort and accomplishment will yield a conclusion that we are winning. Respect to the lives lost in Iraq demands that we understand what is being purchased with those lives -- lives of Americans, Coalition soldiers, Iraqis. It does not upset me when they show violence in Iraq, but it does upset me when they don't show accomplishments. And every measure of progress in a civil society points to a progress. In 2005, thirty times the number of Iraqis received health care services than during Saddam's times. There is a 300% increase of telecom services, almost all schools are functioning. Electric power and oil production exceed pre-war levels. The economy is rapidly improving, of course, it had nowhere to go but up, but it is improving. Our goal would be to develop Iraqi security forces and police capable of managing the security risks. And we see that more and more responsibilities are borne by the Iraqi forces. It would be good to eliminate violence completely, but that probably won't happen. It would be good to eliminate violence in Washington, D.C. too. The goal is to hand over the security responsibility to Iraqi soldiers and to return our soldiers home.
GM: What happened to embedded reporters? It looks like the mainstream media is trying to shape everything according to Iraq is Vietnam paradigm.
BG: It's a good question. In the beginning of the war,the media was accused by the left of a pro-war bias. When the war is new, there is excitement.There is a certain enthusiasm, the instinctive reaction to rally. But the real goal is to sustain this level of support long term. With time the adrenaline wears out. There is failure to find WMDs and it all becomes a political blood sport. In the beginning there was interesting media drama in how swiftly and certainly the Baathist regime was swept out of power. With time, other stories became more interesting, and the media started showing violence all the time. I don't begrudge anybody who disagrees with the war, but it would be nice if our accomplishments in Iraq got 10% of the media attention.
GM: Do you think there is a certain element of historical illiteracy on the part of the American public? After all it took a long time to pacify Germany and Japan.
BG: Older generation of Americans remember the Marshall plan that took ten years, and MacArthur who ran Japan and wrote the constitution which is still in place, and we are still there. I'm not saying that we should stay in Iraq for the next fifty years, I hope that people can step back and see the good that would come out our effort there. All wars are tragic, but I'm proud of the fact that this country stood up against evil regimes. And if the biggest, strongest nation does not stand up to evil the world would be a sad place.
GM: There is a discussion about the war in Iraq in the Jewish community. Some people tried to present a view that all of the Jewish community is against it. This is certainly not true, and certainly the majority is the Russian Jewish community is supporting the war effort. How can those of us who support the troops show our support?
BG: You have to write to soldiers, to let them know that you care. Every time people see somebody receiving letters and packages they get excited. This is very tangible. This is a good constructive way to show your support. You can write letters to the Editor. I know, what you, Greg, are doing in the [Jewish Russian] Telegraph, this is a very effective way to counter the prevalent coverage of the print and broadcast media. It is our duty to communicate, especially here, in New England, in Boston, I believe it is my duty to let people know about the real situation.
GM: Brian, this is probably a very American question -- would you do it again? A few years ago, my daughter had to interview veterans, and one question she had to ask them was this one. She talked to people -- Russian World War II veterans, many of whom you know, and none of them understood the question. They all were drafted.
BG: This is probably a generational question. Until 1975 that was true about Americans as well. There is a nobility in honorable service no matter how you got there, but since 1975 it is all volunteer, highly motivated force. Volunteers, people who made a decision to enlist have a healthier mind set. To answer your question --- would I do it again? I would. I'm still in the active reserve and was deployed three times since 2001. I could resign my commission at any time, but I'm not planning to do it until I'm able to do the job. It is a good thing for me as a person to do things that are difficult. I want to assure safety and security for the American people, including my family.
GM: What are you doing in your civilian life?
BG: I'm the Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Telecommunication of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I came home into very troubling circumstances on the energy front. It takes time and effort to make a transition into civilian life after 210 days in Iraq. You come home, but your head is still there. There are serious issues in front of us, but I can't imagine anybody in Iraq who would not want to trade places with us. We should be very grateful.
GM: Brian, on behalf of your many friends in our community, on behalf of people whom you know and don't know -- Thank you!
BG: Thank you, Greg. I'm so grateful as a friend for your presence in my life. Thank you and thank you to all your readers and the community, I'm always very aware of their support.
GM: I want to wish you and your family a politically incorrect Merry Christmas.
BG: Happy Chanukah and a peaceful New Year!
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