Hackworth Gives Defeatist Comments on CNN

CNN | 3/29/03 | Col. Hackworth

[jimt]

Col. Hackworth on CNN is putting forth some very defeatist concepts of the war for Iraqi freedom. He said that this current conflict was a parallel with the war in Viet Nam. There were other defeatist comments, but this is the most important.

[jimt]

This is utter horsepuckey. In Viet Nam, our soldiers were conscripts, NOT volunteers. In Viet Nam, our US homeland had not been attacked. In Viet Nam, we were effectively supporting a residual of French colonialism, not opposing a brutal dictator. In Viet Nam, we were following on to a silly incrementalist policy which included assassination of local leaders by our personnel, based on paid informants who often used our efforts against us. In Viet Nam, our sluts of political leaders NEVER vowed to use the "full force and power" of the US military aginst our enemy.

Hackworth is apparently enjoying his CNN (communist news network) paycheck. At one time I thought he was a patriot. Now he appears to be a whore.

[Bogey78O]

Comparing it to Vietnam?

Well besides the slaughtering of enemy forces where's the comparison?

[Sam Cree]

I don't want to argue with the guy, since he's a soldier and I'm not. But one big difference is that in Viet Nam we never had intentions of conquering North Viet Nam or Hanoi. We are not restricting our forces to any part of Iraq as we did in Viet Nam.

[laz17]

There ARE some parallels to Vietnam, such as the behavior of the enemy and the press. But there are many more differences, where it counts, and these differences will bring a victory that will make all the defeatists quickly change the subject just as they did after Afghanistan.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Hackworth has always been too much of a loose cannon to make it past colonel and is bitter because of it.

[Amazed1953]

What, six days into the war and our troops are less than 50 miles from Baghdad? Hardly a Vietnam.

[Bedford Forrest]

"Hackworth is apparently enjoying his CNN (communist news network) paycheck. At one time I thought he was a patriot. Now he appears to be a whore."

He appears to be as compromised as Scott Ritter. Given Hack's barely controlled narcicism, the turtleneck shirts, the ever so whitesy teeth, who knows, there could be a video of Hack in the hot tub with five BSBs. Sorry Hack, but you've gone over to the dark side.

[txoilman]

Money does strange things to some folks!

[Stopislamnow]

Hack is trying to be a voice of reason.
There is a reason he retired as a colonel.

[merrin]

I'm not one of those people who believe that criticizing our military automatically inducts you into the Axis of Evil, but the notion that this bears any resemblance to Vietnam is just plain stupid. It's so utterly and obviously asinine as to make anyone who actually bothers to refute it look ludicrous.

[Bedford Forrest]

Try narcissism

[Bogey78O]

BSB?

[sydbas]

I think Col 'Whackworth' likes to play a little game: Hannity has him on his show everyday and everyday he was telling us how well the war was going until suddenly Friday he does a 180 and starts talking about all of this Vietnam comparison and how Rummy is an idiot. He likes to play along for a time and then when he sucks you in he jumps to his real agenda, that as a Democrat. I would never question his contributions to our country as soldier but as a pundit he is, I believe, much less than honest.

[jimt]

Hack is trying to be a voice of reason. There is a reason he retired as a colonel.

You're talking to somebody who left the service as an E4, abeit an E4 with the highest MOS test score in his group, and with immediate promises of E5 if I re-upped, AND with service in a general's HQ as part of the general's staff for over a year.

Naw. I wouldn't believe generals on spec as a general rule. I can cite general officer staff behavior (from 30 years ago) that would curl my hair, if not yours. My general, but not total experience, was that O-6 was the top of the "honest" guys.

But Hackworth(less) strikes me as either an incredible ego or a (CNN paid) whore for the enemy. His comparisons, while ludicrous, are actively defeatist. This pisses me off.

I was not happy about starting this war (see my posts). But now, with our soldiers engaged, ONLY 100% support and complete victory is acceptable. Take my word for it, I may LATER oppose our president, particularly if he reneges on supporting our folks 300%

This is the wrong time for Hackworth(less) to be critical, unless it's positive criticism. Right now he looks like a left wing whore for the media. Show me different.

[The Real Eddie01]

What if he has been asked to portray our situation as weak?

What if the idea is to draw forces out away from Bagdad, in what their leadership concludes are vulnerabilities.

First McCaffery, a decorated 4 star general, makes comments about the vulnerability of the supply lines.

Wolfowitz laments on camera.

The liberal media eat up the possibility that things aren't going well. News reaches Saddam's military planners, Republican Guard move out south. They don't get very far.

It seems that if your enemy is intel deaf and for lack of any other strategy remains in a place you don't want them. Why not use the media to portray a tangible vulnerability to get them to think they have a chance at victory (in this case any casualty they can inflict).

Hackworth like McCaffery could be part of a broader strategy to draw the Republican Guard out of Bagdad by claiming we did not plan properly for this war, our soldiers are down to one ration of food a day, our supply lines (a juicy lame duck ready to serve) are underprotected.

..and now as if on Que, 4-6 days off, just enough time to get the Republican Guard on the move far enough away from Bagdad to back bomb and front bomb them to tiny little pieces.

Just a thought.

Eddie01 "Just made a new tin foil hat"

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Tho there are indeed differences, I would not dismiss his comments. In many ways, he's right. For one thing, we're trying to fight a PC war, which ties the hands of our military and will cause many more dead. That's a major parallel with Vietnam. They wouldn't let those soldiers win either.

I say drop leaflets on Bazra and Baghdad giving residents 3 days to vacate and then level the cities. End of war...no US/Brit casualties.

Instead we'll make them go door to door which will result in many more of our men dead.

[Stopislamnow]

Think you misunderstood my post.

I don't despise Hackworth, but I don't particularly care for him, I think he could have alot to offer, but he playing with fire, especially on CNN. He is comparing vietnamese tactics to those of the feyadeen. And in some ways he is absolutely correct. In other ways he just panders to the leftists that CNN represents.

I too, left the Army as a spc4. Sgt was being withheld for re-enlistment purposes, told my re-up NCO to KMA and not to contact me again before ETS about 4 months out.

[whadizit]

That motion is seconded! IIRC, he has been on Sean's radio show and argued AGAINST going into Iraq, anyway. He is as nutty as he looks!

[whadizit]

And, besides, every time I click onto CNN, I see either an Iraqi ambassador, an NPR person, al-jazeera reporter. CNN has become America's al-jazeera!

[sydbas]

So you are saying that he is part of a sort of, psy-ops, strategy? I would like to think so if only to give Hackworth the benefit of the doubt. I can certainly see using the liberal media as a strategy as they are most certain to comply. I am not sure about Hackworth however: he has said some strange things like how the troops are not equiped well for potential chemical attacks. I also remember him, back in October or so, talking about his 'inside sources' telling him a company in Florida had been contacted to provide sun block for the troops, meaning the war was about to start, when that rumor was out on the internet for weeks prior. Interesting thoughts though.