Hell is too good for this Obamination.
Bring our heroes home.
Eff the rest of the world, we need armed, trained patriots right here, right now.
Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 10/07/2009 6:34:28 PM PDT by underthestreetlite
Paul wrote: “Your anger and disgust should be directed at our political ‘leadership’.”
Absolutely. If there is a morale problem it need to be fixed, not covered up. Hussein needs to stop dithering, give McCrystal what he wants, and make an unequivocal statement that we will do whatever it takes to win this thing.
The article references the Afghans not co-operating. No surprise there. They think the US under Obama will bug out and leave them to be killed as collaborators by the Taliban.
The afghans will not start helping unless they believe the US will be there until it is done.
Everybody likes a winner. American Democrats have a well deserved reputation for abandoning allies. They do it on “principle”.
This is the work of Obama’s and Emanuel’s new ROEs.
The troops can’t pursue, can’t fight back, can’t expose enemy deception, and can’t rely on artillery when they’re in trouble.
They aren’t depressed about Afghanistan - they’re depressed about their own President and his consigliere sabotaging them.
My bad!
Me Too.
Hell is too good for this Obamination.
Bring our heroes home.
Eff the rest of the world, we need armed, trained patriots right here, right now.
Republic wrote: “I HATE Barack Hussein...”
I think Obama derangement syndrome is blinding some Freepers to the fact the Obama may well be forced into doing the right thing here.
Yes he has pathetic liberal advisers and yes his personal instincts are surrender-monkey. But, he’s about to have health care reform go down the tubes, climate change legislation go down the tubes, high unemployment for several more years, a big tax increase on jan 1, 2011 etc. etc.
If you add defeat in what Hussein claimed was a war of necessity, you have a total failed Presidency. I believe political necessity will force Hussein to follow Bush’s example in Iraq. Having exhausted all other options, he’s going have to decide and lead.
Has anyone ever seen a Battalion MTOE with 1,500 troops?
A Battalion Task Force with assigned companies and attached units often range from 500-1500 troops. Not unusual at all.
A light infanry Battalion (2-87) would pick up all sorts of attchments, from Engineers to Artillery.
Regards,
I called the minority leader yesterday and told his staffer to get the troops.
OUT!
Sounds like it’s time for Obambi to go out on another date night. Or maybe he needs to fly somewhere to talk to someone about healthcare, or maybe lobby for better lobster prices, or shop for a bauble for Queen Sasquatch, or some other really important mission.
Guess I should actually spell “Infantry” correctly.
bump
Chaplain ping.
Regards,
Yes
There is no doubt that a lack of clarity in mission can make a soldier woneer at the wisdom of dying for a cause that isn’t clear.
It’s also true that ROEs that say, “Don’t shoot unless you see their weapon.” gives a great advantage to the enemy, and it makes our soldiers completely vulnerable.
It always seemed to me that morale was multi-faceted, but the bottom line measure was whether the soldiers would fight. It also always struck me that speaking negativity was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The commander seemed surprised at his chaplain’s analysis. Heaven is the only one to help that chaplain if he shared this with the Times before he shared it with his boss.
I was attempting to demonstrate that the article may be flawed in a number of other ways.
See #37.
From the story:
Captain Masengale, a soldier for 12 years before he became a chaplain, said: “We want to believe in a cause but we don’t know what that cause is.”
The soldiers are angry that colleagues are losing their lives while trying to help a population that will not help them. “You give them all the humanitarian assistance that they want and they’re still going to lie to you. They’ll tell you there’s no Taleban anywhere in the area and as soon as you roll away, ten feet from their house, you get shot at again,” said Specialist Eric Petty, from Georgia.
Captain Rico told of the disgust of a medic who was asked to treat an insurgent shortly after pulling a colleague’s charred corpse from a bombed vehicle.
The soldiers complain that rules of engagement designed to minimise civilian casualties mean that they fight with one arm tied behind their backs. “They’re a joke,” said one. “You get shot at but can do nothing about it. You have to see the person with the weapon. It’s not enough to know which house the shooting’s coming from.”
When I was a young, captain-chaplain like these guys, I, too, believed that there was this thing that was a compilation of attitudes called morale.
However, as I went from job to job over the years, I came more to believe that there was no “average” morale that had its own existence and impact on a unit. I saw morale more in terms of issues. What was the “living condition” morale? What was the “family relationships” morale? What was the leadership morale? What was the fighting morale? What was the mission morale?
It’s far better to tell a commander that these guys have low morale regarding family relationships, but their fighting morale is a razor’s edge. They’ll kick ass.
I think commanders appreciate specific information rather than some negative average that is its own incentive for more negativity.
I, too, think the ROEs in Afghan are beyond unworkable; I think they’re criminal.
I, too, think these multiple tour-rotation wars are debilitating to families and relationships and focus. I’d far rather we had clear objectives, a mobilized nation, and an overseas-for-the-duration plan. (I say this with a son overseas as I write.)
WWII was correctly fought. You know what you’re after as a nation. You go for it until its accomplished with zero letup. In terms of war objectives, it separates the patriots from the politicians.
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