Posted on 11/07/2003 8:54:04 AM PST by presidio9
Give Donald Rumsfeld this much: The wily ex-wrestler knows that if you're having trouble against a tough opponent, it's time to try some new moves.
That's the importance of Rumsfeld's leaked memo last month, in which he described the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a "long, hard slog." The defense secretary was assailed for daring to state the obvious, but the purpose of the memo was to solicit fresh ideas about how to combat a terrorist enemy, in Iraq and elsewhere.
As Rumsfeld said, the United States is fighting on an inherently unfavorable battlefield when it must spend billions of dollars to combat an enemy that is spending millions, at most. In that situation, it's time to develop new tactics that change the terrain.
I don't know what responses Rumsfeld received (though copies are welcome at the e-mail address below). But I do hear from intelligence sources about some developments in Iraq that may make the battlefield more favorable to the U.S.-led coalition than it has been in recent months.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Best suggestion I have is to reduce the number of targets for the terrorists. Keep the Ameerican profile as low as possible, except when responding in force, as needed.
More and more Iraqi nationals are coming on board in Security and Defense positions. The sooner Americans and others can be taken out of the crosshairs of the terrorists, the sooner they will realize they have lost.
I'm not suggesting we withdraw, just get better at not getting shot!
Hmmmm...
Here's praying it's true.
"Elizabeth, I'm comin' to see you...it's the BIG ONE!"
Can't believe I'm reading this from the Washington Post.
Another key excerpt:
But that has begun to change over the past month, according to the intelligence sources -- precisely because of the rising violence. Iraqis are becoming angry enough about the attacks, which tend to kill more of them than Americans, that they are starting to provide information.
But that has begun to change over the past month, according to the intelligence sources -- precisely because of the rising violence. Iraqis are becoming angry enough about the attacks, which tend to kill more of them than Americans, that they are starting to provide information.
"We are getting more tactical intelligence now than we have people to use it," says one senior intelligence officer. What's needed, he said, are more light, mobile Special Forces units that can respond in real time to tips about potential attacks. That suggestion is likely to resonate with Rumsfeld, who has always thought such forces are better at combating terrorism than the heavy divisions the United States has in Iraq.
Seems the Iraqis are getting ticked off finally..
Which is why the terrorists will get weaker and more ineffective as time goes on. People as a whole are the same everywhere; they want a peaceful place to raise their children, a fair shake, and the chance to succeed.
The vast majority of Iraqis remain thankful for our help. The desire for us to leave as soon as possible is human nature. Us leaving closes the book on this ordeal for them. The few geurillas are mostly imported terrorists. I don't like seeing our soldiers die any more than the next man, but as long as the terrorists are in Iraq, the are not a threat to innocent people elsewhere (and by that I do not just mean "Isreal."
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