Posted on 06/25/2005 10:10:21 AM PDT by StoneGiant
"An Army Of One" is to blame for a lot of this stupidity. "Be All You Can Be" was a lot more effective.
I like his essays, but they'd have more impact if they were about one-third or one-half as long. Other great writers seem to be able to say as much or more in a lot less space.
Why aren't those caught engaging in the "insurgency" put to immediate death? War is hell, but we are acting like a police force not an army. To win a war against overwhelming savagery, we must unleash the dogs.
One more point. We are getting such awful non-coverage of what we are doing in Iraq that I think it is fair to ask what it is Americans have to support, car bombings?.
bump & pings
All wars will shake out miitary forces especially National Guard and Reserve units. In peacetime these forces are rarely stressed. One weekend a month and one two week a summer will not stress the soldiers and their families. A war like Iraq where units are deployed and cycled for 6 month stints will shake out who is there for a check and who truly understands what military service means. It would be interesting to interview National Guard/Reserve soldiers who re enlist. You will find that they will repreent the core cadre of a new future Guard/Reserve force. The two years have shaken out the sunshine patriots and only the true veterans are left. As a side note, several weeks ago 100 insurgents attacked a 40 men police barracks in Baya suburbs of Baghdad. The battle could have been a diseaster for our side, because the two guards fell asleep when the attack started in the early hours (rest of the garrison was asleep). The nearby Iraqi Army unit summoned to rescue the police was also pinned down during the well coordinated attack. The police were on their own. The barrack was raked by RPG and small arms, and rammed by cars packed with explosives. If this happened two years ago, the Iraqi police would have surrendered or worst turn their weapons over to the insurgents and fled. Instead they fought on till the next morning when relief forces broke through. The insurgents lost 12 KIA and forced to retreat leaving 20 wounded behind. The Iraqi free forces are going through the same shake out process. The ones fighting for pay have left, and the ones who are fighting for a purpose stayed. Today these Iraqi veterans are forming the core of a new effective Iraqi force that can go toe to toe with the Sunni insurgents lead by seasoned and military trained former Saddam officers. The insurgent attacks have killed too many innocent Sunni, Shiites and Kurdish civilians. In the early days of the US occupation, these groups stood on the side line letting the US do all the heavy work and waiting to see what will happen. Now the war is personal. Many Americans do not realize the Iraqi forces is also a volunteer Army. I spoke with a buddy of mind who is serving in Iraq, and he tells me that there is no shortage of Iraqi recruits. The people supporting us in Iraq are voting with their feet. They are not sending their wealth overseas, have a packed bag and US visa by their door. They are kissing their love ones goodbye and heading to the recruiting station. The only people talking about quiting is the American people.
When September rolls around and recent high school graduates cant get the required funding to pursue college work or maybe for lack of work prospects, then those Army TV spots will be very powerful attractors.
If recruiters were smart they would do their work in the months of September to January.
so he doesn't do soundbites.
*shrugs*
one of his strengths is the way he lays it all out, forming a strong argument which is difficult to naysay or counterargue.
"The insurgent attacks have killed too many innocent Sunni, Shiites and Kurdish civilians."
I have maintained for a long time that these terrorists do not have popular support and will not win. They have pissed off alot of Iraqis who, as patriots, have volunteered to serve their country.
Your last sentence: "The only people talking about quiting is the American people". It's a good thing we re-elected Bush. The job will get done with him in office.
Interesting points. Is the force better with the "I only signed for one weekend a month and college money" folks gone?
Like all free people, we have to learn the hard way. Rome had to fight three wars with Carthage before finally saying, "enough" and wiping them off the map.
Good analysis. I'm hearing the same things from my former students who are now officers and servicemen in Iraq. No, the Iraqi forces aren't perfect (may I remind Freepers that the American units at Kasserine were horrible?), but they are improving and within two years will be able to crush any suicidal jeeee-hadists that come at them.
Yes, it is. But I would add that the Army has learned that people serve a lot longer if they get the field they want---armor, air, propaganda, whatever. (West Point did this and traded additional time in service for a guarantee of field, and got 52 additional service years in a single signup). A soldier who feels well-placed and well-used is an effective soldier.
Yes, and we did it with a predominately male military where the army had a large number of conscripted soldiers...just as the Koreans and Israeli armies continue to do.
Enlisted soldiers already get the field they want, assuming they qualify.
read later - VDH bump
When General Abrams designed the reserve forces such that we could no longer go to war without the reserves, the assumption was we'd resume the draft in the event of a prolonged war. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, in wartime the draft is a necessity.
No. The only people talking about quitting are the fifth column of commie Democrats seeking political gain from defeat aboroad, their shills in the press, and a handful of "Republican" kooks (Hagel) or RINOS.
The decadent political class living in the MSM echo chamber of DC will crack long before the American people do.
Bush needs to go out over their heads directly to the American people and go back to DC and kick their a$$es.
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