Military Commanders’ Decisions in Fallujah Overridden by Politicians (CONFIRMED)

Fox Live Broadcast / USA Today Interview ^ | 5/3/04 | Jim Michaels

[Miss Marple]

There have been numerous exampls of the media falsifying stories in the war zone. I suggest you review the posts of the last two years.

[dalebert]

But we can't do anything that will inflame the Arabs. They can kill as many of us as they want but we can't strike back because it might upset the people that we are trying to help. What kind of sense does that make?

[ozdragon]

Or as Napolean said "If you say you are going to take Veinna take Vienna"

[LibWhacker]

Thanks! Unfortunately, lots of people here have been fooled and co-opted by the lamestream media into thinking that the go-slow-don't-annoy-your-enemy school of war fighting is the preferred approach of our warrior-scholars who came out of West Point. *Sigh* . . . Things never change.

[CasearianDaoist]

Well with all due respect (and I mean that) I think that you response is complete hogwash. It accomplishes nothing to go in there an slaughter 15,000 civilians, "innocent" or not. The insurgents on the ground know just how well we did there and how crafty wasthe USMC (my alma mater) reponse. We could care less about the Arabs street in Cairo thinks about this at the moment. The rest of Iraq thinks that these people are a bunch of crooks. This town is the equivalent of Bed-Sty or the South Bronx. And it is only a neighborhood in this town. You need to get a grip and calm down - you are overreacting, panicking and playing into the hands of the media. This is an exact replay of what they tried during Vietnam. Hersh is going to try to create another My Lia out of this "toture" business, just wait and see. People on FR should know better. Get a grip.

[expatguy]

I am being extreemly serious.

There is no substitute for victory. If we don't have the stomach or the resolve to finish what we started then we have absolutely no business being there.

We displayed weakness. Exactly what Osama Bin Laden says - "The United States is nothing but a paper tiger." - Militant muslims worldwide are celebrating now the victory in Fallujah.

Pious moderate muslims now in many countries now question if 'divene intervention' played a role in Fallujah. How else can David beat Goliath?

"Najaf is now protected and shielded from the infidels by the hand of Allah. It is the infidels who fear Allah and that is why they are fearful to attack Najaf."

[dalebert]

Tell it to the families that lost their loved ones since they are such a minor statistic.

[Yo-Yo]

I have posted in numerous threads on this same thing.

The war is over. We lost.

Epatguy, we have not lost, we won. Uday and Qsay are dead, Saddam is in chains, and we've scoured the country for WMDs that can be given to terrorists.

The objective was to oust Saddam and secure his WMD programs, not to conquer Iraq and make them a colony.

We need to stabilize the situation, give the Iraqis a fighting chance to start a democracy, then we can pull out and GO HOME.

[ARCADIA]

You want to tell me where you read Bush in that article

It is in Article II of the Constitution. Bush is the C&C so the buck stops there. If he were other then in full agreement with the decision he could have countermanded immediately. The only authority that Bremer, or the Iraqi council, have over our military comes directly from the president. It was his decision to halt the attacks and no one elses.

[mrsmith]

A reporter said so.

That's all the "confirmation" there is right? Do you see any other?

OK?

I tried to be serious earlier: Bremer IS in charge, I'll add that there are no quotes from any commanding officer...

but this thread is obviously only going to be good for laughs.

[Last Dakotan]

Have you ever been in combat?

Any more of this, and I'd have to believe you are a Kerry supporter.

[LADY J]

"Between Falluja and the burgeoning prison scandal, we have a problem, Houston."

How come the outrage is always against our side? And our people in charge always back off and condemn themelves for things like this?

Where are you hearing the 'outrage' from around the world when our soldiers and contractors are being killed while trying to help the Iraqis?

How about when the bodies were dragged and burned? Sure WE were outraged - but now they are going crazy over the poor mistreated insurgents?

There was a time our country thought that spying was not a nice thing to do.

It's time to grow up and admit we are fighting a war. Too bad what everyone else thinks. We were the ones attacked and it's up to us to do something about it because the weeping willies won't!!

[CasearianDaoist]

You see? I try to tell you something and you talk about insults. Just proved my Struck a nerve did I? You aboviously are another armchair general that has never spent a day in uniform. What a waste time you are. Just pitiful. Go hang out at DU, may they will believe your "analysis." Another self-important windbag. Grow up.

[CasearianDaoist]

You are the one that sounds like a Democrat. I tell you what you spound like to me: a fair weather partiot and a coward - that right, a coward.

[lentulusgracchus]

The media did this with Tet years ago and they are trying to do it now with this (they even have Hersch in the loop.) Get a grip on your self, it is pitiful to watch.

Sure they did, and I sincerely hope we'll resume the offensive with MOAB's and a big-ass Arclight mission about 10 minutes after Dan Rather and Sy Hersh HALO into Fallujah to get the straight skinny from the jihadi @ssholes who are dancing in the street.

But we need to know when our own top guys are less than "performant" in their functions. Taking names for later. Which includes the money runners back home who watched the World Trade Center drop on 3000 people from their own office windows, but wouldn't back off their own tax-rebate agenda.

We need to expand our active-duty base and take some of the strain off the Guard units that have been pulling rear-echelon duty in Iraq and flying big hours in the logistical train. We need to bite the bullet and bulk up. Dubya's old man put half a million guys into Kuwait, fully equipped and fully backed with naval gunfire-support and all-arms air assets that Bush II couldn't scrape together if he had to. It's time to admit that this was a bad time to downsize and "restructure".

[Last Dakotan]

I'll add that there are no quotes from any commanding officer..

Did you really expect to see any? Last I checked our military worked on an ethos of doing what you are told, not questioning to a reporter. Which is a very good thing I might add.

[swarthyguy]

How about when the bodies were dragged and burned?

Hey, we showed them in Fallujah. We played 20 year old heavy metal music, AC/DC, inflicted irreparable psychological scars on their tender psyches.

In the prisons we seem to have had some sort of Marquis De Sade MappleThorpe SadoDens. I don't why people are so worked up about it. Just some horsin' around. /sarc

[expatguy]

I acknowledge your respect and grant you the same.

My area of expertise is that I have lived and worked in a Muslim country for over 20 years. I speak, read and write their language. I understand what they think and how they view this.

You can be well assured that I am not simply going to rely on the liberal media or CNN. In many cases I get my information straight from the source, and that is muslims themselves.

[CasearianDaoist]

Why would adding more troopsw help us with 100 jerks in falluja? How is it a resource problem. This is a whole other issue. Stop letting the media play you. this will be over soon and quickly forgotten.

[lentulusgracchus]

Hersh is going to try to create another My Lia out of this "toture" business, just wait and see.

You were an hour and 20 min. late with your post -- he was already doing it on McNeil/Smartass this evening. Fortunately, the other guy on the interview was a Marine JAG officer who knew his stuff and could redirect Hersh when he predictably wanted to climb the ladder and put a nekkid-people interrogation guidance memo on Bush's desk.