Posted on 08/29/2017 4:36:11 PM PDT by wtd
He was probably an OK soldier. But there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING in his resume or background that means he should be SETTING national policy.
Lots of military officers are pretty good at what they do and at taking an objective. That doesn’t mean they should be deciding WHEN we go to war, and what the national policy of the USA should be.
In that province, he’s an anti-Israel, globalist, open borders, moslem-loving traitor. But I would trust him with an armored division. I just wouldn’t let his decide what country we should use it in.
On that topic, he’s about as valuable as your next-door neighbor.
Bttt.
5.56mm
Trevor Loudon from New Zealand is one of the best researchers of communist activities there is today. He and David Horowitz. My brother “Jimmy From Brooklyn” (from the Bob Grant and other talk radio shows) just fairly recently collaborated with Loudon on a project.
DesertRhino wrote: "... But I would trust him with an armored division."
You might reconsider that point if you Re-read this section:
Mine was one of three units sent to rescue McMaster from Tal Afar. McMaster replaced most of the operations people upon assuming command with his admirers most of whom had limited combat experience at best. The majority never had a troop command, even in peacetime. As an apprentice of David Petraeus, McMaster was recommended to command the 3rd ACR not because of his ability/experience to command a large armored formation but simply so he could get his ticket punched on the way to flag rank.
The strategy called for assault, clear and hold, but McMaster simply ordered the squadron to advance without securing positions taken. This allowed insurgents to come in behind his assault force and it was soon surrounded. It came to be known among the troops as Little Stalingrad because of McMasters arrogance and disregard of advice from COIN experts. McMaster was thoroughly briefed that Tal Afar was an insurgent stronghold but ignored this intelligence and attempted to take the city by coup de main (surprise attack) using a blitzkrieg strategy like Von Paulus used in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Use of armor in urban warfare is fraught with danger if not carefully coordinated with infantry and combat support. The insurgent force, commanded by former Iraqi officers, allowed McMasters column to enter the city, then sprung the trap. As with Von Paulus, McMaster soon found his tanks and tracks hopelessly bogged down in the streets and narrow alleys of Tal Afar.
The insurgents used the city like a giant maze. M1A2s (Abrams main battle tank) have vulnerabilities the insurgents used to their advantage. The Abrams was designed with no escape hatch underneath. The insurgents dropped Molotov cocktails on the tanks from tops of buildings. With the tank on fire, the crew had to exit thru the top of the tank, where they could be fired upon as they climbed out.
The M1A2 is also vulnerable to RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]. Tal Afar had been ringed with sand berms to make it difficult for insurgents to get away. However, to enter the city, the tanks had to drive over the berms. The M1A2 underbelly is not adequately armored. As the tanks came over the berms, insurgents shot at their undersides with RPGs. The insurgents learned these tactics from the experience of jihadis who fought the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s. McMaster apparently didnt.
McMaster attempted to paint a rosy picture of the assault but it soon became apparent to others his unit was in trouble. McMaster estimated the assault would take one-and-a-half days to complete, but by that time the 2nd Squadron was trapped. The official record claims that they halted the assault to allow civilians to evacuate. The truth is that they had become surrounded and couldnt move.
My SF unit, just off another operation, was ordered to re-deploy and fight our way in to open a supply route into the city to replenish ammo and supplies and Medevac the wounded. Earlier attempts to drop supplies by helicopter met intense fire and risked supplies falling into enemy hands. It took us three days to battle our way to them. I lost 40 men KIA [killed in action] in one day and a total of 50 lost from my unit alone during the pause, with many more wounded.
The operation which was supposed to last 2 days, turned into an 18-day battle, with the 3rd ACR being decimated. Many soldiers died later in field hospitals overloaded with wounded. Many civilians were not evacuated until after the forces engaged, and they too suffered many dead and wounded.
This fiasco was covered up by McMasters good friend, mentor and fellow West Pointer, David Petraeus, who worried that revealing the depth of McMasters mistakes would reflect badly on him as well.
McMaster is a political officer who took credit for the hard work and sacrifice of others. He advanced his own career and burnished his myth with the help of David Petraeus and John McCain. A deeper research into Army records including casualties and vehicle losses will paint an accurate picture of the debacle, not mythical accounts.
The truth about Tal Afar is that a major cover up has allowed an unqualified officer to occupy one of the most critical positions in our national security apparatus.
ETL wrote: " Trevor Loudon from New Zealand is one of the best researchers of communist activities there is today..."
Yes, I fully agree. Interesting note about the project with your brother - looking forward to reading all about it. Thanks.
Understand that. I was more referring to a Desert Storm type thing where he is assigned to go do what Norman told him to. He was good there, as a lower ranking officer.
As a general and a COIN acolyte, he’s just another Petraeus or McChrystol.
Our modern generals truly suck and we have produced no really good ones since probably Schwarzkopf.
Here’s a link to the YouTube search results for “trevor loudon jimmy from brooklyn”
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=trevor+loudon+jimmy+from+brooklyn
Other interviews with him are there as well.
It’s really hard to figure out who is worth a shirt among Generals.
If this Special Forces Officer knows that 242 Soldiers were killed when only eight were reported, then it was his duty to go public with his face in front of a camera about it.
There is no excuse, none, for not doing that.
The fact that he is supposedly making these accusations anonymously leads me to believe this is bull shirt.
My only knowledge of McMaster was his involvement in 73 Easting. Since his appointment to the NSC he seems to be consistently working at cross-purpose to his boss. I think he’ll be removed after Trump is re-elected, but probably not before then. Trump has run through too many people already and this seems to be one fight he doesn’t want to pick.
According to the Brave Rifles report, 2nd Squadron lost 8 men and 12 soldiers from other units who joined them in the fight. (p. 147). According to the Special Forces officer, however, losses actually included:
Approximately 250 Americans killed in action.
1 HH47 Chinook helicopter
4 Blackhawk helicopters
4 M1A2 Abrams Tanks
30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
Heavy losses of 5-ton trucks and fuel tankers
This is total, anonymous source bull shit! Anyone who has ever spent more then an hour on active duty in any military knows you do not hide 250 Line Ones!
If someone cannot realize this for what it is, they should not be allowed out in traffic! When are we going to stop posting this “eat our young” crap!
4Ltr
You are right. Another BS clickbait site that lures the suckers in.
This former Marine mom, Gold Star sister, and neighbor of a Marine tanker from Texas, now has a very blurry monitor and am super upset hoping that Mattis can convince the President of the true way to save our boots. Mattis’ easing of the ROE gives me hope. A little hope since he did assist Petraeus with his COIN strategy.
I’m going to keep saying this. McMaster is a soldier. He works for President Trump. As a soldier, he does what he is told. If President Trump didn’t want him there, he would be gone.
Here’ what I see; people, in this forum, who complain about the biased media, are believing the very same media only when it serves thier personal bias.
Why are you serving the very institution you detest?
Have faith Trust in Trump. MAGA!!
Here is one little piece from the article that those who know how things work might quibble with protecting and coddling 40 Obama holdovers almost one-sixth of the NSC staff who are plainly out to sabotage the Trump agenda
Now a large part of the NSC staff are not any administration's "holdovers." They are career employees from other agencies temporarily assigned to the NSC because they bring certain professional knowledge and skills. They can come from Defense, State, the Intelligence Community, etc. Usually they are not there for political reasons or political allegiances and such allegiances generally are not strong anyway.
So just a broad brush smear of the NSC staff is a bit of a problem, and you need to look at it individual by individual.
I am not saying the case cannot be made or that the NSC was under Obama or now under McMaster is a paragon of rectitude, efficiency and so forth, because I have no special knowledge of what the staff individually think, what they are telling McMaster and what McMaster is telling the president. I am just saying that these continual hit pieces are smears and largely unsubstantiated allegation. A lot of it misunderstands what the actual role of the NSC is. And "sources say" is not a very solid basis for the indictment either.
And another point - I would guess that McMaster will cross Mattis or Kelly exactly once and that will be the end of him. Since he is still there I guess that hasn't happened, and if it hasn't happened that is the dog that didn't bark.
And, somehow with Kelly in the WH a lot of this nonsense has gotten awfully quiet.
The complainers on these clickbait sites are all a bunch of Chairborne Rangers.
Thanks for your svc. A bunch of Bluesuiters flying F-100s and AC-47s saved my butt on more than one occasion.
(The F-4 drivers all thought they were the hottest, but the Hun zoomies could put the A/G ordinance where we needed it, and Puff scared the s out of the VC!)
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