Gunships Level Minaret As US Cancels Assault

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 4-27-2004 | David Rennie

[mystery-ak]

Im afraid Dubya is micro-managing the war from the WH...I pray he isn't, but if it is true, it's a huge mistake....let the generals run the war....Johnson made a huge mistake doing this.

[ovrtaxt]

Is this an Iraqi minaret or a Michigan minaret?

[ApesForEvolution]

If this is true, which I personally see evidence it could very well be, then WHAT THE * IS WASHINGTON * THINKING?

Bush is very savvy, but I hope he gets over this PC war BS and fast. It's killing us.

[McGavin999]

I think the only "micro-managing" that has been done by the Whitehouse has been to tell Abazide to do whatever he thinks is best. I can't see President Bush telling the military what to do.

[ApesForEvolution]

The only Vietnam analogy I see that I will comment on is the fact that, as in Vietnam, the enemy is not just coming from inside Iraq, and they're not staying in Iraq all the time. I.e., Laos, Cambodia, etc. fed the NVA and Vietdung then retreated to the border regions, the same as we are experiencing from Iraq's neighbors (Syria, Iran, Egypt, etc.) as well as mooselimb nations from afar. THAT is dangerous.

[expatpat]

Well, some of our posters here are thirsty for blood! I hope they're able to act tough, not just talk tough in a forum.

[ml/nj]

bloody urban warfare could provoke retaliation across the country and protests throughout the Muslim world.

It doesn't have to be "Urban Warfare" where our people get hurt.

If the Muslim World wants a fight with us, now would be better than later. We have to stop worrying what others think or say about us because it's never going to be (honestly) good. Our situation is only slightly different from the one Israel has been dealing with for 50+ years.

(And think about the celebrations that might occur here!)

ML/NJ

[ApesForEvolution]

In a potential propaganda disaster, the marines called in helicopter gunships to level a 60-ft mosque minaret allegedly being used as a firing platform by insurgents.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* propaganda disasters. PC sockcuckers. The only reason anything is 'brewing' is because we left a pot on the stove.

[ovrtaxt]

No, he's right. Don't let your 'anti-Bush bashing' concerns cloud your judgment of history.

The politicians need to butt out and let the military be the military.

[ApesForEvolution]

Until we acknowledge that Islam is not a religion of peace, that, when practiced strictly, it is a murdering cult of nuts...until then, we are losing the global war that islam is waging against us.

Of course, PC is more important.../sarcasm

I honestly, in this environment, would not allow my child to serve. He isn't worth a PC war. Someone has to defend the homeland while all the other troops are stationed in one of 100+ nations throughout the world.

[mystery-ak]

I hope you're right...I really hate to see Dubya fall into that trap.....it's such a mess over there right now.

[Gunslingr3]

So how is this like Vietnam?

For all his faults, FDR didn't butt into the seige of Aachen. I can say that it's less and less like WW2...

[FreedomCalls]

Why should we show more restraint for the inhabitants of Fallujah then we did for the inhabitants of Dresden? Is this some sort of "reverse racism"? Are we too politically correct to fight?

Dresden, Germany, February 1944.

[TopQuark]

Let the Marines decide what needs to be done.

As a nation, we cannot decide whether to fight --- for anything -- ever since late 60s. Why do you think it is different now?

[Jeff Head]

It's [past] time to crush Fallujah!.

Amen.

[ApesForEvolution]

I agree. The PC calculations are killing us....

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Were you saying something? All I heard was a monotonous blah blah blah blah blah blah blah .....

That's exactly what the White House is hearing, I'm afraid.

I've donated twice to the Bush/Cheney reelection and just received my 2nd autographed photo of the President and First Lady.

I've called the White House comments line several times to voice my concerns.

[ApesForEvolution]

This PC war is BS. It's killing us. And not one American, even, yes, John Fing Kerry, is worth a thousand demon-possessed savages that murder because we don't bow to the devil's charicature 5 times a day...

[oldtimer]

We have to be nice, and it is not micro-management.

The ACLU and NBC, ABC, PBS and CBS are looking over our shoulders, and they want Kerry to win.

We ought to give the bstrds 24 hours to come out with their hands up, or level the whole damn city.

One Marine/Soldier is not worth 1,000 ragheads.

[Billthedrill]

"Gunships Level Minaret As US Cancels Assault"

Is that a great headline or what? I think that it inadvertently captures the situation - whatever grand assault some folks - mostly amateurs - were predicting, the truth is (1) it won't be that, and (2) the shooting hasn't stopped, and the bad guys are getting the crap knocked out of them.

I don't want to level Fallujah because it's a city of 200,000 people where more important things than war are happening, and where the militants want us to provide them with a convenient media campaign. Lord knows our own media are complicit in it, and theirs have been positioned for three weeks.

But I certainly don't want to send in a patrol as a stalking horse, either, because people will be killed as justification for a retaliation that I think is already justified and imminent.

Here's what I think will happen in broad terms: we're going to whack these guys by the hundreds. We're going to make them fight and we're going to defeat them when they do. How much of Fallujah is left is really not our concern, but if it's flattened it won't be because that was our first choice. All IMHO and subject to vigorous debate, of course.