Posted on 12/20/2006 11:22:46 PM PST by neverdem
Last Sunday on "Face the Nation," Bob Schieffer asked former Secretary of State Colin Powell if he agreed with the proposal for an increase in American troops in Iraq. He said, "I am not persuaded that another surge of troops into Baghdad for the purposes of suppression of this communitarian violence, this civil war, will work."
Of course, Secretary Powell is right. We can never take sides in a civil war and expect to win. Militants on both sides of that civil war appear to hate us, and that includes the Shia and the Sunni. We had expected the Shia to welcome us, since they had been persecuted by Saddam Hussein when he was in power. However, any good will has been lost. The Shia, who represent 60 percent of Iraqis, are exacting vengeance upon the Sunnis for all of the persecution they inflicted upon the Shia when they ran the country under Saddam Hussein. The Sunnis, who appear to be more secular in their views, would normally be that part of the Arab population that would identify with us. But no. Even though they acknowledge American soldiers often protect them from Shia revenge, they continue to attack American military forces with roadside bombs and suicide bombers. Sunni militants also appear to be responsible for more casualties among Iraqi civilians than the Shia militias.
We should not take sides in this civil and religious war in which each side is engaged in imposing its will on the population and to establish itself as the rightful religious heir to the dynasty of the Prophet Muhammed. I assume the physical heir amongst today's descendants of the historical figures involved will be the candidate vying to be in charge of the new caliphate that these insurrectionists and terrorists see as the final outcome...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
nuke the mideast....leave europe ....invade venezuela...have a beer....
With all due respect to ex-Secretary Powell, what's his level of expertise in fighting against an insurgency? Has he continued to receive classified briefings on the situation? Does he know what's really going on in Iraq? No doubt he's far more knowledgeable on military matters than just about anyone on the Iraq Surrender Group, but maybe we should let the present military commanders figure out the best ways to win this war. After all, they ARE there, they ARE informed as best as anyone can be, and that's what they were hired to do.
Let's convey to them our intention to pull our troops out of Europe, out of South Korea, out of Japan and wherever else they are stationed overseas. Let our allies contemplate what life will be without us at their side.Definitely start with Europe.
The Army we had in Vietnam and West Germany in 1971-72 was what I think of as a broken army: undisciplined, long-haired, dope-smoking, mission-refusing, leader-fragging, race-rioting, barracks-destroying rabble. The Army I joined was still recovering from that.
None of those pathologies are present in this Army (or Marine Corps.) The US components of Multi National Force Iraq are not defeated, they are not losers, and they do not consider themselves beaten, despite the constant barrage of defeatism piped into the chow halls by AFN News feeds of CNN and PMSNBC.
Wonderful post. Food for thought and a "short and sweet" way of setting the record straight.
We have been pleading with President Bush to withdraw our troops from Germany and South Korea for years. He isn't going to do it.
It could only mean a difference in the short term. The base of units to rotate to Iraq and Afghanistan is too small. That's why the need to increase the total active duty forces was finally recognized.
Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops
The President agreed in an announcement yesterday.
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