Six Steps to Victory

Daily Standard ^ | Eric Egland

[Jalapeno]

Steps to Victory

The bottom-up plan to defeat the insurgency.
by Eric Egland
6/2006 12:00:00 AM

THIS POLITICAL season, the debate about Iraq has become almost completely backward looking. It has degenerated into finger pointing and partisan sniping--stuck between a false choice of "cut and run" versus "more of the same."

Failure in Iraq is not an option, because it would spell disaster for U.S. national security and foreign policy credibility, not to mention military morale. Our mission in Iraq continues to move forward, and U.S. forces have successfully defeated the insurgents in several areas, yet the enemy has proven resilient and effective. Thus, we must succeed in Iraq by changing the status quo.

The plans for victory so far have fallen short. They have come, top-down, from the Pentagon or the palaces-turned-coalition headquarters in Baghdad. Now, American leaders, especially the nominee for secretary of defense, should consider a bottom-up plan to win that taps the collective grass-roots wisdom of successful battlefield innovators. In particular, there are six course corrections that can be taken almost immediately.

[Jalapeno]

Author's Note: Please forward this to someone who has been on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. Encourage them to offer a supporting anecdote, contrary view, or a better idea, so this can become the best plan possible. In the spirit of finding grass roots solutions to major challenges, send comments to SixStepsInIraq@hotmail.com.

[Hydroshock]

7. Dust off. Nuke the site from orbit. It is the only way to be sure.

[MNJohnnie]

Ok Gen Abizaid talked to all the ground commanders in Iraq and basically told Sen John McCain yesterday in the US Senate that "If you want to "fix" Iraq, sit down, shut up and get out of our way"

So we are supposed to ignore the opinions of the Professional Military on the ground in Iraq and instead take lessons on strategy from never beens writing columns in Old Boy Club DC publications?

Thank you, NO. Want to help win Iraq Dincons? Sit down, shut up and get out of our way. The DC Dinosaurs should try actually reading the facts on Iraq ONE time rather then clinging to their Neo Isolationist Catechism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Security_Forces

[MNJohnnie]

Here is the problem. Talking to people too close to the fight gives you what they can see. A lot of solider wrote on D day that they though the Allies were getting their butts kicked. It sound nice an Utopian to "build from the ground up" only problem is the ground only sees it last patrol, it neighborhood, it's town. The ground trooper does NOT see the whole picture. And guess what. They are going to be in that areas they are in because THAT is where the problem is.

Looking only at anecdotal evidence is going to give you a very negative picture. Our troops are NOT going to be operating where things are going really well. We do not need them there.

[Jalapeno]

So we are supposed to ignore the opinions of the Professional Military on the ground in Iraq and instead take lessons on strategy from never beens writing columns in Old Boy Club DC publications?

Uh, read the article again and do a search on the author.

[arthurus]

Failure in Iraq is not an option

It is more of a fait accompli.