BUSH MAKES THE CALL: NO FULL SCALE FALLUJAH OFFENSIVE

The Drudge Report ^ | April 25, 2004 | Matt Drudge

[threat matrix]

developing tonight..header for now

[Polybius]

Bingo. Hell, for all we know, that could very well be the strategy. See what happens. It doesn't really make it any easier to wage a war if you've got the President's supporters second-guessing his strategic decisions before the results have been seen- hours after he's made them.

No news report or press release can be taken at face value during a war.

As you pointed out, you have to be patient and wait in order to get the Big Picture.

A study of the operational history of the 135th Airborne Division, Fourteenth U.S. Army, First U.S. Army Group [FUSAG] would be very educational.

135th Airborne Division Insignia

[McGavin999]

Last I saw, our side is the only side that's actually obeying the cease fire and not doing any killing.

Uh, where have YOU been. We've been knocking them off 20 and 30 at a time. Just yesterday we took out 11 of them coming out of a mosque fully loaded. After we eliminated them, we took their weapons, and laid them out in a nice neat row for their compatriots to find.

[ohioWfan]

If they really knew what we were like, some of these 'men' would be VERY afraid.........hehe

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!!!

[rogator]

Who says we are not fighting to win?
Bush is NOT Truman, Johnson, or Nixon (three presidents for whom I did not vote).
Iraq is not Korea or Vietnam.
Wait and see what we actually do in Faluja.

[txhurl]

I hope/know you're right. I just am so sick of Fallujah getting headlines. I realize the right thing will happen at the right time.

[swheats]

Let me see if I'm understanding this:

President Bush stood on a mound of rubble in Ground Zero and told those who had done the dirty deed they would be hearing from us soon.
And he delivered.

He went on t.v. numerous times and told the American public and the world what he thought would be best and that the world should rally with him to accomplish the mission.
Many accepted call.

He stood before the United Nations and told them to either put up or be replaced as a body or become as the League of Nations. (In light of what we know now regarding those he spoke too on the Council)
And they acted.

He gave Saddam 48 hours to decide his fate or U.S. would come in after him.
And we did.

Why would I begin to doubt the President now and to believe an upstart like AlSadyr would not be put down, by any means necessary.

We might have missed bin Laden. The jury's still out concerning his were abouts or his state of health.
But as the president as said he's not leading any parades.

As Drudge always says he's goes where the "stink" is and this one stinks to high heaven. All the critics would love to know Bush is micromanaging.

[section9]

Yeah, but Tom, I don't think this agression is as controlled as you suspect. The objective is still to kill the rags. The idea is to leave Fallujah standing. Of course, the Ragsters will see through this right quick and start attacking (or at least Zarqawi will, if he's there).

And we'll kill them.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Arkinsaw]

I think the Marines proved to the insurgents last week that they are completely capable of dealing with these thugs. Thats really the only reason for the insurgents allowing these city leaders to negotiate in the first place. If the insurgents were opposed these city leaders would be dead.

As far as I can tell, the Marines have lost nothing from this deal. They will swoop in and take control of the city with token presence of Iraqi cops and public agreement by city leaders so the Iraqis can save face.

The Marines will still shoot anybody who shows a weapon on sight. They'll still search suspicious locations. They'll probably divide the city into manageable sections. It has the added benefits of no immediate assault and no recruiting tool for the insurgents since they cannot claim that the city was occupied without Iraqi "permission". Don't see what the big deal is, it looks all good for us.

[ohioWfan]

Clever, dinok. Really clever.

Makes your argument so much stronger.

HA!

[Arkinsaw]

GHOST SPIDERS! HUZZAH!

[section9]

Ah, yes. Personally commanded by General Patton, eh?

Another "phantom" division.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[prairiebreeze]

That's a good point. Time is on our side with this one I would say.

Prairie

[Pukin Dog]

Rule Number One: When you send in the United States Armed Forces, send them in with a clear objective and no holds barred to win. Otherwise do not send them into harm's way.

I asked you on another thread to define winning. The objective is NOT a military victory, it is a political (Iraqi Democracy) victory. You need to allow that little fact into your considerations. There are no holds on our Military. The objective is to get rid of insurgents. It is NOT to level a city, kill civilians or look tough.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were shots across the Japanese bow, to break their will to fight, saving American lives in the process. We saved many more Japanese citizens through those actions than most realize. We would have had to kill half that nation in a full scale invasion, with tens of thousand dead Americans. Your perspective is really warped.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That's the real core. It's hard to fight a war when you've got enemies in your rear.

Absolutely!

[jocko12]

WHIMP.

[Rokke]

"So, at this stage of the game, do you think Bush made the right call?"

In as much as Bush listened to his tactical commanders in the field and approved their gameplan, yes, I believe he made the right call. If folks would just sit back for a second and try to imagine the array of intelligence gathering equipment we've got working over Fallujah right now, they might get a better feel for how and why decisions are being made like they are. We are very well tuned in to what's going on in the bowels of the city. For the most part we know who is there, who isn't there, where they are and what they're doing. The Marines are the world's greatest experts at achieving a military objective through unconventional means. They are defeating an enemy comprised of everything from 18 year old idiots from upperclass families in foreign countries, to former regime members looking to force a rewrite of the Kay report. This isn't a Napolianic war of attrition. This is guerrilla warfare in the 21st Century. We can try to fight it using WWII urban warfare technics, or we can move beyond Stalingrad and kill the enemy with tools that make James Bond look like a caveman.

[festus]

Hehe. Maybe its NOT true ? Make em think they are strong and winning. Get cocky and start letting their guard down then whack em ?

I know it may be wisfhul thinking but Bush is no guy I'd want to play poker with. You never know what he's really angling for.

To those who say "He aint got my vote" I ask do you Really want John Fing Kerry ?

Sheesh.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

OK with me, as long as we are not paying with the lives of our forces for political outcomes. If this is a tactical decision, fine.

[kabar]

If there are 2000 hard core terrorists inside the city, we will have to kill most of them. We have them trapped. If they escape, we will have to face them again under different circumstances. We made a mistake in stopping thereby raising the stakes. We have made these vermin into heroes.