Another defeatist thread on Free Republic. It's amazing how folks are bellyaching. Insurgencies take five to eleven years to defeat. We've got genuises here who are ready to bug out now three years in to a counter-insurgency--for what? So we can return in a few more years with a military that is tanned, rested and ready?
You claim that it takes five to eleven years to defeat an insurgency and I think you may be right. Do you also think it's a great idea to rotate the same combat arms soldiers in and out of that theater, as well as lengthy call-ups for Reserve and Guard soldiers, without expanding the force? There are plans afoot to re-deploy soldiers before their 14 month off-rotation period is up.
Our mission now is boots on the ground and UAV/UCAVs aren't going to fit the bill.
It is not "defeatist" to point out mistakes. We went into Iraq with way too few troops to do the job, pure and simple! The fault belongs to Rumsfeld and his stooges, such as Perle and Wolfowitz. Now, we're paying the price for the blunders made--BTW, most of us want to WIN in Iraq as the consequences of not doing so make one shutter in fear! But we're not going to be successful if the current strategic trend for fighting the GWOT continues--It is synonomous with seeing your favorite football team behind in the third quarter and facing a third-and-nine situation while the coach keeps calling for the same quarterback sneak running play that has been stopped six times already by the stacked defense!