Posted on 11/14/2006 8:12:56 AM PST by liberty_lvr
But take hope - we were in much the same shape on the eve of WWII with overly-cautious commanders utilizing outmoded and disproven tactics.
There is one huge difference between then and now, though: back then there was a political will, succinctly communicated to the American electorate, to actually win the war. I shudder to think what we have to offer in the way of both military and political leadership today.
Great post!!!!!
Well, we are fighting to win, but we understand that winning is a combination of a whole bunch of things in this insurgency were fighting, and as Ive indicated time and time again, this is different than any other fight I believe the United States of America has ever found itself in. And I quite frankly think that this is a fight that will characterizemany of the characteristics of this fight will be characteristics of future fights if we get into them.
It is a blend of both kinetic and non-kinetic effects, and the non-kinetic effects are many times as important and often more important than the kinetic effects. And thats whats different. And that is really what Pete Devlin said in his report, and I think he was right. We need political support, we need economic support at Al Anbar. When we do that, it will have an effect on security in Al Anbar and drive down security.
I haven't a clue at what he said.
two words-Clinton Generals
two words-Clinton Generals
He's saying that the best way to defeat the terrorists is to create domestic prosperity. Which is pretty much the entire point of the invasion.
This article is inane. Our generals get it: this author does not.
Deny responsibility. Attempt to shift blame. Make counteraccusations.
Who says we can't learn from the Democrats?
We lost this war because we were not ruthless enough against the enemy. We could have nipped this in the bud, instead we wanted to make friends. Now look where we are.
"I haven't a clue at what he said."
Building wells is more important than kicking ass.
(Because when you return to the Pentagon, you'll have no black marks on your record.)
"create domestic prosperity. Which is pretty much the entire point of the invasion."
Prosperity is just around the corner for Iraq, as soon as they kill the terrorists.
It was an evasive non-answer to a very reasonable question. That's never a good sign.
And neither does he!
Great article.
The supreme irony of the campaign against Rummy and the President is that by all indications, both listened intently to their generals in the field and gave them free reign to pursue their post-modern warfighting theories into oblivion. But if the President or the SecDef would have taken drastic action and fired the lot of them, they would have been accused of being LBJ and McNamara reincarnated.
For the sake of the country these generals should have been fired regardless of the possible name calling the CIC and others may have encountered.
If we *really* want to transform the Army, we can do it in a few easy steps:
1. Eliminate up-or-out, and make it easier for officers to change branches as they move through their career. Move promotion decisions to no more than 3 levels above the officer in question - IOW, the division commander should be able to promote his company commanders.
2. Eliminate the system of moving 1/3 of the army every year for no good reason. It's wasteful and detrimental to morale.
3. Reorganize the Army to look in peacetime the way it does in wartime - combined arms, to include support and service support elements, all the way down to the company, if not platoon, level.
Actually the difference I view with the most foreboding is that 50 years of restricting industry and JIT (Just In Time) production methods have probably left us without the bricks and mortar to gear up to a war production posture like we did in WWII.
I was privileged enough to study military history (decades ago... sigh...).
The key points that came through over and over:
Generals almost always prepare for the previous war.
Forward thinking is incredibly rare.
Forward thinking will be resisted strongly.
In my view, Donald Rumsfeld is a forward thinker, at least in the realm of force modernization. He bears some of the blame for the current strategic failure, but he also deserves credit for the brilliant initial victories in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In my view, the unfolding debacle in Iraq is a strategic failure at the civilian level. The democrats bear a heavy burden of shame for tying our hands, and for their determination to cut and run. If the dems are able to impose their will on our national policy, they will ensure a defeat of historic proportions.
But ALL our politicians and diplomats forgot the REAL lesson of Vietnam:
Fight to WIN or do not fight at all.
The dems do not have the will to win, or even to fight back. In my view they are traitors, the lowest form of scum on earth. But our side bears significant blame too, including Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, and President Bush.
OUR SIDE forgot what should have been one of our core principals: If you must fight, WIN.
We are now doomed to two years of dem control of the purse strings of war. Most likely we will see significant setbacks worldwide. When the enemy deems the time to be right, we will see another attack on our homeland. The damage at home and worldwide will be immense, but I think/pray we will survive.
Two years from now there may, perhaps, be a silver lining. Perhaps we will finally learn that the only war worth fighting is the one we fight to WIN. Perhaps we will even find politicians who understand this, and elect them to office.
What kind of person willingly sacrifices the lives of our young citizens through Political Cowardice (I refuse to use "correctness") in order to advance their personal agenda? Doesn't this make the senior military leadership guilty of all the transgressions so hysterically leveled at the Bush administration for the last four years?
Your grandson-in-law shall remain in our prayers for a speedy and successful recovery. Thank him for his selfless service, also. Recognize that he embodies that which is best in all of our citizens who wear the uniform and serve.
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