Why the U.S. (Iraq) Surge Needs To Defeat Two Countries

The commander of American reinforcements to Iraq, General John Keane, was in London on Wednesday to talk about the progress of the counterinsurgency campaign and its prospects. America, he said, had adopted the wrong strategy to deal with the disorders at the outset. It tried to solve the problem by conventional military methods, using force against force in an attempt to defeat the insurgency by killing those who were waging it, when what was needed was something more like police action, providing Iraqi cities with security, so that citizens could resume their normal lives with a reasonable assurance that they would not be murdered.

The wrong judgment was adopted because the American commanders believed they were confronting a Vietnam-style insurgency, when the Sunni insurgents actually were trying to repossess the government of the country, which they had traditionally dominated by force.

Glad to see JK on FR.

'The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made in such form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need.'

Usually, It's Robert Kagan on here.

So now our military will be used as a police force, in a foreign country during a war.

I thought it couldn't get worse.

Tagline.....

Now we will restrict our troops to Police response against the terrorists that are killing them with SAMs, RPGs, IEDs and more.

Split it up and Split, then split Iran up into microscopic pieces.

I have been loathe to critique my Army brethren, but I have the impression that the leadership has suppressed some of the creative ideas that small unit commanders developed. In warfare you have to use a variety of tactics. You have to hit the enemy a hundred different ways and keep him confused. Patrolling the same roads daily in humvees waiting for the next IED seems a bit dangerous to me. I hope there is a lot going on in Iraq that never sees the light of media attention; I hope I'm wrong about the tactics. If we have been quietly killing 10X as many jihadis as the media reports I will be greatly relieved.

"The pursuit of the strategy of pacification confronted American forces, however, with a dilemma. The more vigorous they were in suppressing the insurgency, the more they risked alienating ordinary Iraqis and enhancing support for the insurgency. Attacks on the Americans intensified as a result, and any period of success in military operations led the leaders of the insurgency to believe that they might eventually win the war against the Americans and expel them from the country.

This is not a realistic expectation, since neither the insurgents nor the terrorists will ever deploy enough force to achieve military victory. Insurgent hope is, however, the life blood of the disorders, and if Iraq is ever to be stabilized, it remains essential to get on top of the destructive violence. That is the object of the surge, the reinforcement of the American presence with another 20,000 troops or five brigades of combat units."

For me the above two paragraphs are the meat of the article. The Insurgents/Terrorists live off hope. Only MSM and the Left Politicians give the Insurgents/Terrorists hope. Had our "Opposition Party" and MSM been on our side, (you cannot be neutral if you want the US to win) the Insurgents/Terrorists would have had very little hope. Every time Senator Kennedy calls President Bush a liar, Idiot Durbin equates our Troops to Nazis, MSM breathlessly reports a car bombing, etc. it gives the Insurgents/Terrorist hope that we will cut and run. Until our "Opposition Party" and MSM want the US to win, there will be hope for the Insurgents/Terrorists.

If we have been quietly killing 10X as many jihadis as the media reports I will be greatly relieved.

10x is what we routinely killed in Nam. Not even close. They replace their loses faster and much cheaper than we do. A thousand times so.

When you see 3 dead Americans and 300,000 enemy dead - then - you will see positive results.

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