Posted on 11/28/2007 9:56:02 PM PST by Maelstorm
Ping to self for later perusal.
Bump
Finally!
Fight back! The media is part of the battlefield!
Our:
• Super secrecy, which doesn’t keep much secret from the enemy, but actually suppresses positive stories, needs to be rethought.
• Our slow process oriented, the bureaucratic approach to dealing with Information Operations, often causes us to “miss the boat” and by the time we react it’s to late anyhow and the public is lost. We are typically reactive with the media.
• Our political correctness and self restricting MO in the realm of Information Operations allows the enemy to exploit the net, more or less play journalists, and take advantage of the press cycle etc. while we debate the ethics of imbedded journalists and if that should be done.
• The Army is about putting lead down range and that makes sense. The peripherals or what was seen as such (Supporting roles), to which Information Operations: Psyop, Civil Affairs, and Public Affairs more or less fell under were grossly neglected, poorly resourced, and given little attention.
We are winning Iraq and it is slowly beginning to show. One of the major lessons learned here is that our DoD needs to rethink and resource Information Operations differently than in the past. Iraq wasn’t ever a miserable quagmire, our ability to get the real story out was.
I truly believe, the average Joe on a blog, or writing to family and relatives, giving a speech on Veterans Day, etc. is the one who ultimately saved the day as far as keeping at least some semblance of objectivity and telling people what is really happening. Left to their own vices, the media would and indeed vastly did report negative and highly biased, with the Army just sitting there doing little while being massacred in public perception both in the Middle East as well as at home. -IMHO
I think you are right. It was forums like ours that kept Iraq from becoming Vietnam which the left and some misguided libertarians have so desired. Notice how quiet they are as the possibility of defeat is quickly becoming not only unlikely but absurd. Defeat was always dependent on us giving up Iraq and the MiddleEast to terrorists and opening a door to the possibility of an Iranian ruled Islamic superpower.
That said, it was our soldiers and allies and the Iraqi people who have captured victory for themselves. The Iraqis have a great opportunity. They have a country with riches and it is heartening to see them grasp onto the idea of the potential greatness of a free and unified Iraq. Will the problems disappear. No, but Iraq is headed squarely for success and all of us who did not retreat and did not accept defeat should celebrate and know that we stood against more than just men but a legion of darkness which hungered for defeat.
Question: Excuse my ignorance, but why are their English markings on Iranian Rockets?
Don’t see any Arabic Markings. I believe the military, but others won’t.
I think it would be fun to own some of these rockets. Oh, all right ... the military can keep the high explosives. But think of the fun at the next local elementary school “rocket day!”
And they never will.
I suppose the Army could write some Farsi on there that says, "With love from Ahmaheadjob". They may believe it then.
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