Posted on 11/13/2004 9:45:06 AM PST by Pokey78
Winning in Fallujah Is Just the Beginning
Americans scouring news reports of the U.S.-led assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah can be forgiven if they are experiencing a degree of confusion and uncertainty.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assures us that U.S. and Iraqi government forces are advancing steadily through the insurgent stronghold and that the assault has been "very, very successful." Yet even as troops move street by street through the Sunni city, the measure of their success is elusive. There's no uniformed enemy force, no headquarters, no central command complex for U.S. troops to occupy and win. At the end, there will be no surrender.
Instead, the outcome of the battle must be judged by a less clear-cut standard: not by the seizure and occupation of ground, but by the impact it has on the political and diplomatic process in Iraq. Its chances for success in that area are highly uncertain. Will Fallujah, like the famous Vietnam village, be the place we destroyed in order to save it? Will the bulk of the insurgents simply scatter to other Iraqi cities? Will we win a tactical victory only to fail in our strategic goal of convincing Iraqis that we are making their country safe for democracy -- and specifically for elections at the end of January?
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
wclark@wesleykclark.com
Dear Wes,
Kerry lost. Go away.
Signed, America
When it suits the slimes, they actually do describe the enemy accurately...
"There's no uniformed enemy force, no headquarters, no central command complex for U.S. troops to occupy and win. At the end, there will be no surrender."
But they do so with the express purpose of demoralizing Americans and the troops.
Hey, Wes. STFU. Your days of bombing Christian civilians in Europe is over. Maybe the KLA needs an air force. You could sign up with them.
I hate it when a "has been" thinks he's a "still is".
Remember, General Clark had a distinguished career in the military, and the fact that he sucked as a political candidate doesn't negate that. Military leaders follow orders and they don't make policy. I'd feel fairly comfortable with a guy like Clark in an advisory role to the administration. The fact that a fish can't ride a bicycle doesn't make it a bad swimmer!
On the one hand, you have to wonder if Clark ever actually was in the military. On the other hand, given the way he offers encouragement and expresses confidence in that same military, I guess it isn't a surprise that he is a Kerry devotee.
Wesley Clarks' INCOMPETENCE nearly started WWIII (or four depending on your view).
It was only when subordinates REFUSED TO OBEY HIM that desaster was avoided. He is just frank burns with a better taylor.
The outcome of the battle is simple to predict.
As long as there are strong leaders like Bush and NOT brown nosing fops like Wesley Clark and John F'ing Kerry running the show, we will win.
IMHO
Very funny.
I hear he and Ashcroft will be singing a duet.
In my opinion, if we've made mistakes in Iraq, it's pussyfooting around.
Why did we give Falujah several weeks of advance notice? Why not ring the place with tanks and troops and prevent anyone from leaving? Without notice?
When the bodies were burned on the bridge, the bridge should have ceased to exist an hour later. Falujah should have been attacked within 24 hours.
Our troops suffer because of this ridiculous effort to 'win hearts and minds' and to reach a diplomatic solution. There can be NO diplomatic solutions with terrorists.
If you listened to this bozo on the networks at the onset of the Iraq war, you know that everything he said was wrong. His attitude seemed to be that all the military people were dumbbells except him.
He has a good career in Vietnam then became a political officer. His actions with Clinton in bombing Christians and helping Muslims in Kosovo was horrible. The Muslims including the KLA in Kosovo helped Bin Laden sell dope or really transit it to Europe.
Thank God Wesley, and his lack of diverse military thought, isn't the one leading the military campaign in Iraq.
Gee, I ponder what his motivation in this writing may be? /sarcasm
Don't ask don't tell?
Clark is like a 20 year old punk in a 60 year old body. What does he offer in terms of public debate? He's a light weight.
You can disagree with a man's views and still show him the measure of respect he deserves.
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