Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

U.S. forces 'losing' in Iraq, Powell says (gag alert)
Int'l Herald Tribune ^ | 12-17-06 | Brian Knowlton

Posted on 12/17/2006 5:14:36 PM PST by STARWISE

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-159 next last
To: ARealMothersSonForever
I am not questioning Powell service in the military and yes he has every right as a civilian to say what he wants

But just because he has the right to say our military broken .. doesn't make it right

And Powell of all people .. especially with all his years of service should know better then to pull a stunt like this

You can make excuses for him all you want .. but what he said and did was WRONG!!!

There is a time and place for everything .. this was neither

Just think for a moment what a comment like that sends to our enemies .. put your bias for Powell aside for a moment and think about that

61 posted on 12/17/2006 8:12:48 PM PST by Mo1 (Thank You Mr & Mrs "I'm gonna teach you a lesson" Voter ... you just screwed us on so many levels)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
put your bias for Powell aside for a moment and think about that

Perhaps you misunderstand. My bias is toward the United States military. Any commanding officer, active duty or retired, has my utmost admiration and respect. These fine Marines, soldiers, airmen, sailors, coasties, and reservists dedicate their lives and swear their allegiance to the United States of America. Not a political party. I have not seen any indication that General Powell has ever disparaged or compromised his commission. And he has never disobeyed an order from civilian leadership.

62 posted on 12/17/2006 8:29:09 PM PST by ARealMothersSonForever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: STARWISE

How anyone can think or say Powell is a patriot is beyond me. This is beyond the pale.

He and Jimmy Carter. What a pair.


63 posted on 12/17/2006 8:29:37 PM PST by GretchenM (What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Please meet my friend, Jesus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: RockinRight
I have several military friends that would show him something "broken" if he said that to their faces.

I doubt it.

Your military friends would show more respect for Gen. Powell's experience and rank than you do.

64 posted on 12/17/2006 8:32:40 PM PST by cicero's_son
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: sgtbono2002

Bump!! to that and if I remember correctly Powell and Les Aspen, then Secretary of Defense, refused our guys in Somalia heavy armor. They didn't want to escalate the war ergo Black Hawk Down.


65 posted on 12/17/2006 8:33:17 PM PST by Plains Drifter (America First, Last, and Always!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: STARWISE

Powell is just a full blown liberal,an expert on affirmative action.


66 posted on 12/17/2006 8:34:49 PM PST by Unicorn (Too many wimps around.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ARealMothersSonForever
This article is not about about his military service years .. this article is what he said as a civilian about our military

Now if you want to defend his comments and call our troops broken??

They just say so

67 posted on 12/17/2006 8:39:05 PM PST by Mo1 (Thank You Mr & Mrs "I'm gonna teach you a lesson" Voter ... you just screwed us on so many levels)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: Plains Drifter
19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

CGSC and the War College both teach Sun Tzu. Josef Stalin believed in tactics that we as Americans find morally reprehensible.
4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

Despite the protestations of the "nuke them all" crowd, and the "kill three generations" crowd; these tactics are not within the moral capability of the United States of America today.
Recommended reading:
http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html

68 posted on 12/17/2006 8:48:37 PM PST by ARealMothersSonForever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: ARealMothersSonForever

?


69 posted on 12/17/2006 8:51:18 PM PST by Plains Drifter (America First, Last, and Always!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: cicero's_son

There's a respectful way Colin Powell could have said that we need to change things in Iraq.

Calling our Army "broken" isn't the way to do it.


70 posted on 12/17/2006 8:56:33 PM PST by RockinRight (Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. He's a Socialist. And unqualified.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: ARealMothersSonForever; Mo1

Instead of defending someone, granted with command military service, who's chosen to bash his country and his military publicly, assumedly to salve his wounded pride and ego from not being invited back to the admin, has it ever occurred to you to trumpet all the positive things that have been accomplished by this country and her brave troops?

For the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and former Sec. of Defense, this was a reprehensible thing to do. Fine, if he feels that way .. what has he gained except press for himself by doing it publicly? He surely hasn't made our efforts better; on the contrary, he's most likely made them worse. He's besmirched his own government, which he once served for decades. Just appalling.

Do you applaud and express gratitude to our volunteer military? Do you even support this country's survival and our great troops?

Do you not understand that our troops see and digest every negative comment from the internet and press, while striving to keep up morale for fighting these brutal savages?

Where did your thinking go so awry? This is a conservative forum; and, as the owner indicates: we support our President and our troops. It *doesn't* say: "until the going gets tough."

What ARE you doing here, anyway?


71 posted on 12/17/2006 9:05:22 PM PST by STARWISE (They (Rats) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war-RichardMiniter, respected OBL author)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

Comment #72 Removed by Moderator

To: jazusamo

Same here. I used to have a huge amount of respect for him. Not anymore.


73 posted on 12/17/2006 9:14:32 PM PST by rlmorel (Islamofacism: It is all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. Or chops off a head.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Read THIS
74 posted on 12/17/2006 9:15:07 PM PST by STARWISE (They (Rats) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war-RichardMiniter, respected OBL author)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: jazusamo

I should qualify that: I had solid respect for him...not huge.

I have huge respect for someone like the late Adm. James B. Stockdale.


75 posted on 12/17/2006 9:18:18 PM PST by rlmorel (Islamofacism: It is all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. Or chops off a head.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: marcosdouglas77

I got no business commenting on these matters.

I just got a case of the ass against the world right now.

Welcome to the FR.com.


76 posted on 12/17/2006 9:18:50 PM PST by Radix (Has your Tag Line lost its way? Call the Tag Line Fixer Uppers, at 1-800- Tag Line, leave a message)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: Plains Drifter
The statement of "They didn't want to escalate the war". It was not our "war" to escalate. The reason that I referenced Sun Tzu is thus:

"1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State."

"2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

"3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field." Note: some interpret 'obtaining in the field' as 'for declaring war'.

"4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline." Note: the conditions or considerations pertinent to obtaining in the field. It is important to recognize that the Commander is the fourth consideration, and not the first. Likewise, no mention of faction nor political parties.

"5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger." This is contracted in English by necessity. As Americans, we do not deify a human ruler (president, prime minister, etc). The 'ruler' that is referenced can most closely be associated with God Almighty, our Lord and Savior, Buddah, Jesus Christ, Yahweh, the Messiah, or the Great Spirit. In the current war in which we are engaged, there exists a disparity and division regarding the Moral Law. Thus, victory can not be claimed. Until the Moral Law is unified or justified.

The Moral Law does not have clear definition in the USA or the UN. Many leaders from the Vatican, Qom, Mecca, Beijing, Peshawar, and even Salt Lake City have attempted to unify Moral Law amongst the secular leadership.

77 posted on 12/17/2006 9:27:24 PM PST by ARealMothersSonForever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: STARWISE
What ARE you doing here, anyway?

Is this query directed toward me?
If so, what I am doing here is participating in an open and forthright debate regarding the proper prosecution of the Iraq peacekeeping effort, that the USA is performing under the auspices of the UN Mandate in Iraq. The UN has an open mandate that runs through 2011.

Article Last Updated:11/29/2006 12:14:30 AM MST The U.N. Security Council unanimously extended the mandate for the 160,000- strong U.S.-led coalition in Iraq for 12 more months on Tuesday, as Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed an international conference at a venue outside the war-torn country to forge reconciliation among Iraq's political parties. Promoting what may be the most controversial issue to face the Bush administration, Annan said that Iran and Syria should be included in efforts to stabilize Iraq.

78 posted on 12/17/2006 9:40:23 PM PST by ARealMothersSonForever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: ARealMothersSonForever

What a ridiculous response.

How about a few specific answers.

Are you an American?

If so, do you love and support your country and our troops?

This is a conservative, patriotic, troop-supporting forum.

Does that fit you?


79 posted on 12/17/2006 9:46:01 PM PST by STARWISE (They (Rats) think of this WOT as Bush's war, not America's war-RichardMiniter, respected OBL author)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: STARWISE
I'll bet you think if you were in charge, you could fix it.

He was in charge... the first time around.
80 posted on 12/17/2006 10:05:49 PM PST by gogogodzilla (Republicans only win if they are conservative. Woe befalls any who forget that.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-159 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson