Gingrich breaks ranks to attack US 'failure'

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 12/08/03 | Alec Russell

[Pokey78]

An influential member of the Pentagon's main advisory body has broken ranks and criticised America's record in post-Saddam Iraq saying that after taking Baghdad America "went off a cliff".

Newt Gingrich, a senior member of the Defence Policy Board which advises Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said yesterday that America had been prosecuting an ineffective military campaign at the expense of the political moves essential for victory.

He told Newsweek that the army had not learned the lessons of Vietnam in how to run a counter-insurgency campaign.

Mr Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, said the army had failed to tackle the aftermath with a swift handover of responsibilities to the Iraqis.

He added: "I am very proud of what Tommy Franks [the commander in the war] did up to the moment of deciding how to transfer power to the Iraqis. Then we go off a cliff."

[ctonious]

So you think we actually know what we are doing in Iraq? I don't. I think we have our heads up our ass. Japan and Germany are not where they are today because we mollycoddled them in war. We CRUSHED them and then repressed them brutally untill they proved they were worthy, after a couple decades, of returning to the human fold. Peace comes AFTER victory .... not after extensive politically correct cluster f__cking.

Dead on. PC idiocy has consequences. It is an unfortunate fact of human nature that being "nice" does not counter insurgencies. Russia knows this, the Brits know this - but we have an overabundance of "Barney" thinking here for us to be effective. That will all change when they nuke one of our cities - and our busybody soccer clods finally "get" it.

[newgeezer]

So, how is Newt wrong?

He boinked his underling, and he ain't no King David (so, he dun get no pass).

[biblewonk]

Oh yeah, will I looked at a dirty magazine once so does that undo all my bible reading? yb.