Major General Speaks To Residents About Iraq

Major General William Terpeluk, the former commander of the 77th Regional Readiness Command at Fort Totten, spoke about the war in Iraq during a Country Club presentation on Monday, December 15.
Terpeluk, who said that 7,000 of his soldiers have gone to Iraq, began by giving a “canned” talk from 2006 entitled “The Global War on Terrorism: The Long War.” He pointed out that, prior to the 9/11 attacks, there were 13 separate attacks and that others were at war with the United States before it was at war with anyone else.
“We’re never going to be attacked by a nation state that we can readily identify,” Terpeluk said of the “new enemy.”
Terpeluk said that one of the biggest boosts to not only Islamic terrorist groups and fundamental terrorists but also hate groups and extremist groups has been the Internet because it was able to bring like-minded people together. Also during his presentation, Terpeluk shared Al-Qaeda’s 20-year plan as detailed in the New Yorker. The first of the seven stages, which began in 2001 and lasted until 2003, was called the “awakening.” Specifically, the attack on the World Trade Center provided the awakening.
From 2003 to 2006, an “eye opening” took place where more people interested in attacking America were recruited. The Major General explained that the third step was a rising or standing up that started in 2007 and will last until 2010. This is where Al-Qaeda will confront Israel in order to get the support of the rest of the Muslim world.
The fourth step involves radicals replacing the ruling governments in the various Islamic nations. From 2013 to 2016, as part of the fifth step, there will be the reestablishment of the Tao faith.
The sixth step will be “total confrontation” and will take place from 2016 to 2020. After that, the seventh step is for there to be a “definitive victory.”
Terpeluk said that some of the work the United States is doing now in other parts of the world is in an effort to ensure terrorism does not spread further.
He said that by providing things such as agricultural support and civil support to create stable economies and nations, conditions are being created that would prevent terrorism from spreading. In regards to the war on terrorism, Terpeluk said that it is not in black and white.
“When you get into the war on terrorism…it’s going to be a shade of gray,” he said.
Terpeluk also spoke about some of his more personal experiences. When the former commander of the prison at Abu Garib was relieved of duty when the scandal broke out, he was made the commander of the 800th MP Brigade there. While noting that the detainees were there lawfully, Terpeluk said that there were five levels for the prisoners depending on what they were in for and their behavior. He said that the level five detainees were the “hardcore individuals.”
“I looked in those eyes, and this is the day that turned it for me,” Terpeluk said. “You look in those eyes [and] you see nothing but pure evil.”
Terpeluk also stressed the fact that the military treated detainees well and did what they could to respect their traditions. As an example, he explained that since it is embarrassing for an Islam man to be seen naked in front of another man, the guards would unshackle them and let them go behind a shower curtain to undress and shower.
“You don’t know if that individual’s going to come out with a homemade weapon. You have no idea what is going on behind the curtain,” Terpeluk said. “Those guards put their lives in their own hands just to respect that tradition.”