McCaffrey Paints Gloomy Picture of Iraq

Washington Post ^ | 3-28-2007 | Thomas E. Ricks

[Types_with_Fist]

This guy has gone back and forth on this.

[nativist]

1 out of 16 plus Petraeus and this is news.

[Tarpon]

Did you know, the guy was in Vietnam? OK, now the obligatory is out of the way -- Now if he would opnly get out more, he might be useful, otherwise, trash bin.

Reminds me of a turtle I once knew, had three broke legs and wondered why his world was so small.

[OldFriend]

What a surprise coming from bubba's butt boy.

It's all about smoothing the way for hitlery now.

[TADSLOS]

McCaffrey seeking the spotlight of significance the only way he knows how- by focusing on the negative to the point of disaster.

[Brilliant]

The Clintonistas keep babbling.

[PGalt]

His report also lists several reasons for some new optimism...

Bipolar?

[Steel Wolf]

Did you know, the guy was in Vietnam? OK, now the obligatory is out of the way -- Now if he would opnly get out more, he might be useful, otherwise, trash bin.

He was just in Iraq, meeting with General Petreaus. Does that not count as "getting out more"?

[MNJohnnie]

McGafferty is a Heavy Armor General with utterly no experience in Counter Insurgency. He is a favorite of the Junk Media as a "military expert". He knows which side his bread is buttered on and is merely telling his Junk Media bosses what they want to hear. His opinion on Iraq is utterly useless.

BTW, this makes the 5th switch on the topic he has made. How do you know he simply will not change his mind again?

[MNJohnnie]

His report also lists several reasons for some new optimism, noting that since the arrival of Petraeus last month, “the situation on the ground has clearly and measurably improved.

And of course, as usual, the Junk Media ignores the meat of his report to exaggerate and hype the negative. New day, Same spin lines from the Junk Media

[mort56]

This man is in the employ of NBC and MSNBC. Take what he says with a ton of salt.

[Tarpon]

Did he take off his blinders? Leave the green zone? Doubtful. The guy is a Bush hating windbag, regardless where he is.

[Steel Wolf]

Did he take off his blinders? Leave the green zone? Doubtful. The guy is a Bush hating windbag, regardless where he is.

I don't know, I imagine he got out as far as General Petraeus. Which is to say, if he left a secure area, it was only to fly to another.

I'm no fan of McCafferty. I think he's a clown enamoured of his own media visibility. But he's been well recieved by FReepers over the last few years, as a Clintonite who was nevertheless seeing positive trends in Iraq. Even in this article, he had some good things to say.

So, maybe he's not the one wearing blinders?

[Old Retired Army Guy]

I believe he commanded Clinton's "War on Drugs". What was the outcome of that War?

[Tarpon]

Man the life boats, the War on Drugs is flooding the lands.

[Unicorn]

And you are doing your part to help.

[macamadamia]

“The population is in despair,” retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey wrote in an eight-page document compiled in his capacity as a professor at West Point. “Life in many of the urban areas is now desperate.”


Is he talking about Iraq or the "War on Drugs?"

[Steel Wolf]

BTW, this makes the 5th switch on the topic he has made. How do you know he simply will not change his mind again?

While I never thought I'd have to stand up for Barry McCafferty twice in one day, I'd have to say that anyone who thinks that Iraq is utterly doomed or destined to succeed is either ignorant or a fanatic. Iraq has had ups and downs, and the industry thinking on it has evolved tremendously over the last 4 years. The fact that his observations swing good and bad is because there's a lot of objectvely good and bad to see. People who always predict success or failure are selling something, but it's not expertise.

McCafferty, clown media darling that he is, still takes himself quite seriously, and believes what he's saying. I tend to disagree with him, as I think he's a pompous fool. But he's a genuine one. He's not an outright opinion pimp like Wesley Clark, who was always far more politician than officer, and now no longer has to pretend otherwise.

[Dilbert56]

Ricks has a vested interest in our failure. His "Fiasco" book will not sell if Iraq succeeds.