Posted on 06/04/2007 2:53:06 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
It’a great info and thanks for posting. Keep in mind those at the top are always responsible for proper management down below them. Bush is responsible for the over-all failure, then Rumsfield etc. etc. etc.
I don’t consider Iraq a failure in either military or post-occupation (post-CPA) management sense, while realizing that some “mistakes were made” as they are in any war. It’s a roach motel for al-Qaeda and Iranian-sponsored jihadists which is what and where it should be, which was a part of our strategy as al-Qaeda started moving en masse to Iraq from Afghanistan in 2002 after defeat of Taliban.
“Iraq” is “over-all” failure only from political and PR standpoint and there blame squarely lies on Bush and his inability to articulate and keep expressing and promoting successes, achievements and goals.
BTW, here is another thread - if you can stand any more of this - that I somehow omitted in previous post that helps explain the “war” and a very good link in post #24 :
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821840/posts
“Iraq” is “over-all” failure only from political and PR standpoint and there blame squarely lies on Bush and his inability to articulate and keep expressing and promoting successes, achievements and goals.”
This is true but does not cover why I feel their was a failure on the post-invasion military strategy to secure the country. His ‘passionate conservatism’ allowed himself to be influenced to listen to Al-Malaki and give a pass to Al Sadr at Fallujah.
This enemy should have been destroyed for thier direct assault and death of American troops, not a surrender package which included being part of the entire Iraqi government. This was flat out stupid and was probably one of the biggest military blunders of 21st century.
The Mahdi army had 700 total troops, some of which were Iranian Republican Guard commanding mercenary thugs paid to kill our boys. At least, these should have been rounded up and detained while they were surrounded on all sides (all 700 of them) interrogated using water boarding and the IRG and Al Sadr imprisoned until the country was secured.
Instead, it sent a message to Iran that we were weak and divided as we had always been about the Iranians. Iran was scared when we went into Iraq. Fallujah told them they could kill American troops with impunity and get away with it as they have done for 30 years (minues Reagan bombing thier navy in 1988). They then scaled out the Mahdi army to 10,000 troops causing the total instability of the entire region to establish a big security parameter and tame the country. Now to undo this blunder, a direct conflict with Iran is inevitable.
Weak PR to the American public from Bush was a mistake but the biggest mistake was the ‘passionate conservatism’ at a time we needed ultra-violence to destroy murderers, rapists and thieves attempting to cause chaos to derail us. Guess what? They (Iran) already succeeded in their objectives. We will cut and run and Iran will move in unless we directly attack them. Either way, that is acceptable to them.
... a direct conflict with Iran is inevitable.
Inevitable and necessary, as it has been all along, the same way that taking out Saddam had been necessary and eventually inevitable. That is the essential point of Thomas Barnett's "The Pentagon's New Map" and concept of "The Gap". It's been made more difficult due to our internal situation (especially after 2006 elections), but we hear more and more noises about Iran, both on nuclear WMDs and acts of war in Iraq, akin to what was happening with Saddam before 2003.
Weak PR to the American public from Bush was a mistake but the biggest mistake was the ‘passionate conservatism’
I would not mind "passionate conservatism", but I am sure you meant Bush's "compassionate conservatism" :-(, the term and philosophy that should be banned along with other Bushisms like "kinder and gentler", "uniter not a divider" and "new tone"... which in themselves beget a weak PR, let alone his communication skills.
Yes, we indeed are on the same page.
That's Asian and Middle Eastern.
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