Why America's generals are out for revenge

The Times UK ^ | April 18, 2006 | Dean Godson

[ziggygrey]

In WWII we had a Civil Affairs Division that took control and established order as the front line moved past.... It's apparent this lesson was forgotten or ignored by the Pentagon. But it's also a job that cannot be done if you don't take a force large enough to provide for occupation duty.

It's hard to believe that people as smart as Rumsfeld and Cheney would have overlooked such an obvious consideration. Also, relying on locals for intelligence, leads to mistakes that end up alienating the very populace we need to win over.

Saddam is out of power, that should be our victory - because the government, security and infrastructure rebuild should now be the responsibility of the Iraqis. As long as we're there, the training wheels never come off. Our troops would be in a much less frustrating postition if they were stationed at the borders preventing terrorists and weapons coming in to the country (particularly, the border with Iran), rather than getting in between Iraqis shooting at each other.

Otherwise, our brave troops are going to continuing taking the heat and the blame for the continued situation, no matter how brilliantly they perform.

[griswold3]

One thing about Vietnam I will never forget is Johnson picking out the bombing targets.
If I ever thought President Bush or Sec. Rumsfeld were doing this, I'd abandon ship.

[PsyOp]

The Officers oath contains a phrase not contained in the Enlisted oath:

I know. I've taken both. That's why I said what I did. Thanks for the confirmation.

[george76]

Do not forget the nice music...

http://sg1.allmusic.com/cg/smp.dll?link=yo2338b4qwyn3zaqt2vz55a&r=20.asx

[middie]

Put in jail!!! What? Someone has lost all perspective and, hopefully, only temporary loss of their common sense. It sounds more like the Stalinesque purge that cost the Soviet Union more than 3 million dead during Hitler's Operation Barbarossa than any statement of rationality.

[Pelham]

Yep. It's a lot harder to take out a howitzer than a helo.

[Pelham]

I don't know about the Crusader's maintenance requirments, but it has some interesting features. It employs MRSI to drop 8 rounds on the same spot at the same moment- like having a couple of batteries coordinate time on target. Needs a specially cooled gun tube as well as a computer. Operates with a small crew and swaps parts with the main battle tank.

[Pelham]

I'm sure you're right, the Paladin is an important weapon. But add a cooled howitzer, some composite armor, a gas turbine, full auto loading and advanced command and control...

[LZ_Bayonet]

"One thing about Vietnam I will never forget is Johnson picking out the bombing targets."

The History Channel has aired (and probably keeps repeating)a program titled something like "Air Power in Vietnam". It includes what appears to be circa 1968-69 Air Force footage and commentary about Air Force efforts in Vietnam. The commentary BRAGS about the ability to carry out strikes on targets in Vietnam with the mission planning and targeting taking place in Washington D.C.

Satellites were still new technology, so the AF was probably bragging about it's ability to transmit the data. If so, it's a lesson that just because a new technology is available, doesn't mean it should be utilized. (It seems I've just made a comment on Crusader and I didn't even mean to go there.)

[Gorjus]

an insult to our Navy Personnel and Air Force Personnel

Why? My comments were on Rumsfeld's decisions on what tools those personnel would be provided with, not on the people using those tools. I'd absolutely expect that our troops have the 'into the valley of death rode the 600' sort of courage, and man-for-man our forces are the best in the world - and I absolutely include the Israelis in that.

But sending F-18s up against integrated SAM defenses, when we could (or, with the right tools we could) use artillery instead is going to get a lot of brave men killed needlessly. It's about having the right weapons for the situation, not about who is behind that weapon.

[Gorjus]

I can't imagine the administration allowing a weapons system named "Crusader" to be deployed in Middle East.

What's ironic to me is that we're the only ones bending over backward to deny our heritage. The Crusades changed history in a major way. Reminding ourselves of that - on both sides - can serve was a warning of what to watch out for in the future. However, in today's PC world, we're a lot better at ignoring history than learning from it.

[Gorjus]

Put in jail!!! What?

I limited my little dream of justice to general-officer levels because it is at their level that policies are set. And the military policies of the Clinton administration were so despicable that anyone who would willingly associate with them has betrayed his oath to the Constitution and the nation. "Just following orders" is no defense.

Obviously, someone who was already a general officer when Clinton's abomination was coming into power, and who then retired in the normal course of events (rather than as a visible sign of protest) may have been acting responsibly. But anyone who remained in service once it was clear what was going on, and certainly anyone who advanced during that period, is not one whose opinion I would respect.

Is that 'Stalinesque?' Frankly, I don't care about the label. But it's way over the top to say that holding policy-making general officers responsible for their policies (or for those they support) sets the stage for another Hitler. That "perspective" is just silly.

[middie]

absurd!

[Tribune7]

I thought this was pretty weird

The kung fu movie star Bruce Lee would have turned 65 in November, and a two-ring media circus descended on Mostar, Bosnia, for his birthday. It was then, in this mortar- and bullet-pocked city once famous for its Ottoman bridge, that the world’s first public monument to Lee was unveiled. Building civil society never seemed so weird: Here was a life-sized bronze statue of a topless American immigrant paid for by the German government and christened by a Chinese diplomat, erected at the behest of a dysfunctional community of Croats, Serbs, and Muslims.

But there are always unintended consequences.

Just hours after the monument was unveiled, a group of rowdy teenagers defaced the statue and stole the nunchucks, leaving the site littered with wine bottles. According to Sky News, one citizen responded with the cry, “Once again we’ve shown what Balkan savageness is!”