Posted on 04/28/2006 9:17:28 PM PDT by neverdem
ping
In the event of invasion, he planned to go to ground and direct an insurgency -- and had prepared the ground to do exactly that. Evidently, we were totally unprepared for this tactic.
Air America Deflates - The progressive radio network isnt long for this world.
From time to time, Ill ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
All I can think of is the "Martin Sheen - F.A.G." clip from Team America
Cheers!
After what we have learned about CIA opposition to this war, is it any wonder our intel on the Saddam Fedayeen and the Mukhabarat was weak?
See Camp Saddam.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did not have a focused human intelligence (HUMINT) collection strategy targeting Iraq's links to terrorism until 2002. The CIA had no [redacted] sources on the ground in Iraq reporting specifically on terrorism.
FYI
How do you prepare for an insurgency?
Do you kill everyone that looks suspicious?
Do you incarcerate everyone that looks suspicious? When do you release them? How can you prove that that person will not revert to an insurgent?
A stable gov't with popular support can undermine an insurgency. Therefore, the best course was to move forward, setup the gov't, kill insurgents as they arise and hope the people come together.
It looks like our plan is working. Given the fact that we only lost 2500 men over 3 years is a testiment to success, not failure.
Origins of the Iraqi Insurgency
Release/Translation of Classified PreWar Docs ping. If you want to be added or removed to the ping list, please Freepmail me.
Please add the keyword prewardocs to any articles pertaining to this subject.
Operation Iraqi Freedom Documents
Thanks for the ping.
Excellent data. Thanks for posting this.
THAT is the central failure of the administration PR strategy in Iraq.
War, all war, is a series of catastrophes which, if managed well, can lead towards victory.
The catastrophic history of WWII, if you didn't know who won eventually, would curl your hair.
Our people were not prepared properly, nor were they properly led, for the Iraq war.
Similarly, another senior Iraqi politician told a small group of Americans last fall that Zarqawi was "nothing." Zarqawi's operation is essentially run by the Syrian mukhabarrat, this Iraqi figure explained. Jihadis are recruited through the mosques to Syria, where they are trained by individuals from Afghanistan. They then cross into Iraq, all the time under the watchful eyes of Syrian authorities, without realizing that they are, in fact, part of a major Syrian intelligence operation.
This is the core of the problem. We are fighting in Iraq the intelligence organizations of Syria and Iran. The "insurgents" are just extensions and tools of these governments.
How would you have prepared and led our people?
I would have asked Congress for a declaration of war on September 16, 2001. Subsequent to that, I would have imposed full press censorship, started a Federal propaganda agency, detained all nationals of the Islamic nations and screened them for deportation.
I would have issued a call for volunteers for the purpose of expanding the army to 50-60 divisions, and asked Congress for a draft if there were not enough volunteers by December 1, 2001.
I would have expanded the USMC to ten divisions.
I would have told the people from the beginning that our goal was the conquest, occupation, and reconstruction of the Arabian peninsula and Pakistan, that it would take five years of military expansion and heavy combat but that when it was over, we would be much safer.
I would have prosecuted sedition to the full extent of the law.
I would have nationalized GM and Ford for the duration, to assure adequate supplies of military vehicles.
I would have rationed gasoline, since supplies would become very constrained.
I would have used the War Power of the People of the United States to drill for oil in Alaska, and off the California and Florida coasts.
When the 2002 elections gave me a majority of over 300 House seats and 60 Senators, I would have repealed laws blocking the construction of nuclear power stations, and I wuld have built 300-400 of them by now.
By 2006, my only problem would have been how to fund the new GI Bill for my demobilizing army, and where to find enough Arabic and Pushto speakers to run the occupation governments.
For starters.
LOL - that movie just doesn't get old. I have it here and laugh just as hard every time I see as I did the first time I watched it.
Thanks for the ping!
And you would have done all those wonderful and logical things in what country? You could have never gotten any of that done even in the aftermath of 9/11 because of the Democrats.
You are opetrating in your own fantasy vacuum with the benefit of hind sight.
Congress would have unquestionably declared war on 9/16/01. Do you dispute that?
Everything else follows.
If the President was not prepared to fight the war, he should have not started.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.