From Times Online

November 16, 2009

Arnold Schwarzenegger visits Iraq - and aims to transfer military tactics to California
Oliver August in Baghdad

Arnold Schwarzenegger
(Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images)

Troops stationed in Iraq didn't let Mr Schwarzenegger forget about his

bodybuilding, action movie past...

The governor of California trots out his most famous one-liner wherever
he goes but, at the Victory military base in Baghdad today, he apparently
meant it.

“I’ll be back,” Arnold Schwarzenegger growled after working out with a

group of American soldiers on active duty in Iraq, all with necks and
trunks as thick as his.

The muscleman who rose to Hollywood fame as The Terminator came to

the site of America’s bloodiest war in a generation to cheer up troops, but
also because there are important lessons to be learnt here.

Mr Schwarzenegger said he wants to study counter-insurgency strategies

developed by the US military when Iraq was on the brink of civil war, and
bring them back to the mean streets of California, where criminal gangs
rule entire neighbourhoods, especially in large cities.

Already, police officers in some parts of the state are attempting to copy the hard-won lessons that
helped to calm down the western Iraqi city of Falluja and the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad,
where insurgents once reigned openly.

The governor did not actually go to these places, now relatively peaceful, to see soldiers on patrol.
Instead he heard about their work in the safe environs of one of the largest US bases in Iraq and shook
hands with them afterwards. He also held meetings with senior commanders.

The transfer of counter-insurgency tactics from the military to the police is being pioneered in the
central Californian town of Salinas. Combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are already advising
the local authorities on how to conduct their own “surge,” as the US counter-insurgency campaign of
President Bush is known.

Rather than hunting down gang leaders and arresting them, the police is told to build trust in the
community that supports the gangs. Only by patiently “draining the swamp” can the leaders be
eliminated.

There are apparently striking similarities between Iraq and California. Many gang members and
supporters see police officers as an “occupying force” similar to a foreign military presence. Like in
Baghdad, there are also language problems. Officers speak English and locals often Spanish, making
cooperation in criminal investigations difficult, even when citizens are willing.
Combat veterans in Salinas say they think of Sunni Iraqis when they listen to the grievances of some
Latino Californians. One of them, Major James M. Few, wrote on a blog, “The frightening realisation is
that I’ve walked this dog before.”

Of course, some gang leaders will still be arrested. But the focus now is on social programmes and
economic growth to create jobs.

The “surge” tactics are a surprising legacy for the last US President, who began the war in Iraq with a
“shock and awe” campaign before switching course later on.

Mr Schwarzenegger is no stranger to uniformed life, having spent a year opf national service in the
Austrian Army, where he drove tanks and temporarily disappeared during basic training to attend a
body-building competition. He spent a week in a military jail as a result, something nobody mentioned
publicly today. On a previous occasion though, the governor said, “Participating in the competition
meant so much to me that I didn’t carefully think through the consequences.”

Like his film persona, Mr Schwarzengger is a man who prefers firing bigs guns to winning hearts and
minds, or at least tries to combine the two.

One of his most treasured possessions is a vintage Austrian tank, which he had shipped to America and
then gave to a museum in Ohio nine years ago. But last year he asked for it back and had it brought to
California - in order to give rides to children visiting his office.

In Iraq, tanks have gone out fashion.since they’re no good for fighting suicide bombers on bicycles.
The American warrior culture has undergone a fundamental change since the 2003 invasion.
Commanders now talk about sectarian reconciliation rather than “kill ratios”.