[SandRat]

More Good News

[Calpernia]

Last week I flew to Fallujah to meet the men and women of the 5th Regimental Combat Team. As I do with all units, I shared the words of T.E. Lawrence, "Do not try to do too much with your own hands … it is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them." This powerful theme, consistent with our motto, "Iltizam Mashtarak – United Commitment", guides our joint vision for success in Iraq. Iraqis are determining their future according to their Constitution. Together the people, the government, and the security forces are shaping Iraq's transition to self-reliance. It will take time, and there will be challenges. Those challenges will be resolved through legitimate political processes, protected by professional security forces. In the spirit of partnership, the coalition will support the Iraqi government in finding sustainable solutions, and in creating a unity of purpose that protects and respects the rights of all Iraqis.

[Rembrandt]

Gen. Casey points up one of the major issues with the VN war. The U.S. was never able to make it "the SVN war." Given the subterfuge of the Dims and the nay-sayers in the military hierarchy, we were never able to turn that into the SVN war against the NVN commies. That war was lost in the halls of the democratically controlled congress; now they'd like to make it a pair with Iraq joining SVN to make the Dim pair, a losing hand no matter how they serve it up.