Stuck in the Quicksand (Hackworth Article Poor Timing Alert)

SFTT.Org ^ | April 1, 2003 | David H. Hackworth

[PJ-Comix]

Since Vice President Dick Cheney said he saw the war in terms of “weeks rather than months,” I wish I could report that Tommy Franks’ grunts were beating Desert Storm's 100-hour-war record set by Stormin’ Norman's studs in 1991. But because Saddam got the message in 1991 that his army couldn't stand toe-to-toe with our military machine and walk away the winner, that's sadly not the case.

Instead, Saddam’s sadists took a page from the post-World War I German Command, which came up with a smart new way of doing war business after waving the white flag and subsequently blitzkrieged its way across Europe in just over a year.

The vanquished tend to question why they lost and adjust their battle tactics and gear accordingly. The victors seldom bother to mess with success. Which is probably why, given Desert Storm's easy score, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld felt comfortable going back to the Gulf with four combat divisions – even though the president authorized eight. Especially when air power's “shock and awe” promised a quicker, cheaper win.

Now we're stuck in the Iraqi quicksand in a soon-to-be burning desert with guerrillas tearing up our rear, doing unto our troops whatever unconventional fighters did to the French at Moscow, the Germans at Stalingrad, the Americans in Vietnam and Somalia, the Soviets in Afghanistan and the Russians in Chechnya.

While Saddam was watching videotapes of “Apocalypse Now” and “Black Hawk Down” and taking notes, Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers – badly misjudging Iraq's determination – chose to refight Desert Storm.

The Dream Team made three classic mistakes:

* Not understanding the enemy or the nature of the war.

* Thinking smart bombs would do the job.

* Underestimating the patriotism of the average Saddam-hating Iraqi and how fiercely he'd fight for his country.

Sources who participated in the year-long war games prepping for Operation Iraqi Freedom say prescient junior officers – pointing out that Saddam was publicly ordering his people to prepare to fight unconventionally – pushed strongly for scenarios to include: insurgent strikes to soft rear areas with missiles; hit-and-run guerillas cutting our supply lines; and other suicide assaults such as car bombs.

But the brass blew off their paramilitary prophecy as radical thinking. Majors don't win verbal wars with generals – particularly slick political types under the thumb of an overpowering SecDef who seems to have bet a lot of lives on technology.

A concerned retired general says: “I think the combination of Rumsfeld and the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an Air Force man, is a dangerous mix. I'm sure Myers is a superb combat pilot, but that doesn't qualify him for influencing a ground campaign. And there's never been a war won by air alone. Sure, it sets the conditions for final victory, but until you get the troops on the ground to do the dirty, dangerous work, you can never achieve victory. The final truth is that our soldiers and Marines and airman always have to take our plans and make them work.”

During the Vietnam War, our leadership managed to violate all nine Principles of War. In Iraq, as in Vietnam, we have control of the air but don't have Initiative on the ground, Mass, Surprise, etc. And most of the top brass support Rumsfeld's scary impersonation of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara by agreeing that victory is just around the next guerrilla-ambush corner.

Talk about denial. Last week, Operations Chief Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart, holding court at Central Command's prime-time version of the Spinners Club, said a car-bomb attack that killed four soldiers came from “an organization that's getting desperate” and not playing by the rules. Big surprise!

George W. Bush needs to immediately reassess his war plan, bring in more combat troops, heed the advice of his fighting generals on the ground rather than his team of mainly chicken-hawk advisers and immediately readjust his tactics. He needs to get real and apply the lessons learned from the Russians in Chechnya and the Israelis in Lebanon – and to understand what went wrong in Vietnam.

Hopefully then, he won't make the mistake of another Texas president who didn't sack his SecDef and Joint Chiefs chairman straight away for their screw-ups – an error so egregious it cost our country almost 60,000 American lives and LBJ his presidency.

[Conservababe]

Hackworth is as wrong as all those retired generals that have been whining about the impending doom of our forces. They have no credibility left and ought to just shut their pie holes.

Rummy mentioned, in his sweet unassuming way, that the retired generals should indeed shut their mouths. Afterwards, on Fox rountable, there was a discussion of this and the pensions that the Generals might lose for critizing the war.

Hmmm, is it possible for a pension to be taken from a General for such?

[EaglesUpForever]

I guess if we don't have zero losses, zero civilian casualties (not so much as an injured baby Goat), and the whole opposing country cheering a warm welcome within 24 hours, it's a "hopeless quagmire dwarfing Viet Nam."

[Severa]

He still has a regular column in the Navy Times. I try not to read it because he irritates the hell out of me.

[dead]

One thing he said that I laughed at was that our soldiers "do not have a place to change into their gear".

We need to develop some "cammo cabanas" for our shy boys.

[Thorondir]

I have been finished with HackWorthless for a long time. He had his day. Now he is just blowing it out his a$$ to get attention.

[tubebender]

I saw Tom DeLay call them "Blow Dried Napoleons" today. ( referring to all the hasbeens on TV)

[Mark Hamilton]

I'm glad Hackworth retired sometime ago. Its unfortunate when observers, once considered innovative, become fossilized in their "lessons" from previous wars.

Ironically, I was once in the "we did it all wrong" camp and advocated overwhelming force, forgeting that that what we really need are victory stratgies, regardless of the approach.

In Vietnam we did rely too much on technology, air support, and piecemeal committment WITHOUT a victory strategy- all wrong for the era. But Hackworth has not changed with the times. We have replaced the diffuse, slowly applied, firepower with speed, manuver, and pin-point destruction.

In Vietnam we fought to destroy their will to fight, but never dared cross their borders or approach their capital to destroy their means. We were unable to find their forces when they chose not to fight, they had santuary in Laos and Cambodia. And the will to fight of our own allies was always compromised by our indifferent results and collatoral civilan damage.

There will be a war someday when we need eight, or ten, or twenty divisions - but this is not one of them. If Hackworth believes that we underestimated the enemys will to fight or tactics, then it only proves how strong the war plan was; i.e. we are winning anyway at record speed.

Of course, it is Hackworth that does not understand. Four more divisions would have been irrelevant to city holdouts - unless the purpose is to make them Que' (way). There will to fight is now irrelevant, because our combat power is destroying their means.

Hackworth is showing his age, it may be time for him to retire from public life as well.

[hotpotato]

Oh NO! It's... IRAQ QUICKSAND!

Ruuuunn... Hackworth! Ruuuuunn!

[PJ-Comix]

This article will hopefully shut him up and get him out of the public eye or he is gonna end up being a genuine laughing stock.

This article already has made Hack a laughingstock. A Doom & Gloom article coming out on the day the Coalition Forces capture Saddam International Airport 10 miles from downtown Baghdad sure isn't a way to establish your credibility as a serious prognosticator.

[SamiGirl]

Yo, Col. Hack, sit down and shut up. You're obsolete.

[1poedpatriot]

McCaffrey is a clintonista, and hack is gettin old, maybe senile, desperate to get hits on his website, c'mon Hack has this campaign really "failed ", this is a big time ass whoopin' with a temporary slow down due to 3rd armor moving way too fast for the logistics to keep up !!!! yeeeeeeeeeeesh !

[Billthedrill]

Sad. Truly sad - the guy has paid his dues, but sometimes that just isn't enough. Time, I think, for this old soldier to do some fading away.

[Swampmarine]

Retired Air Force LGEN McInerney on FOX has been right on the money for several weeks now. He was never one of the naysayers, called the plan brilliant early, and has been supportive and positive since day one. I always had the feeling that he was just a little better tuned-in than the rest of them. Maybe that's why he got three stars.

[Mr. Mojo]

Hackworthless is spewing his garbage on Larry King right now.

[Swampmarine]

Retired Air Force LGEN McInerney on FOX has been right on the money for several weeks now. He was never one of the naysayers, called the plan brilliant early, and has been supportive and positive since day one. I always had the feeling that he was just a little better tuned-in than the rest of them. Maybe that's why he got three stars.

[Mr. Mojo]

Hackworthless is spewing his garbage on Larry King right now.

[Conservababe]

Hack is not going to fade away as he has a new cause now. He will show up again babbling about all the diseases that the troops have from Gulf II.

He must have some money to back him from somewhere and someone.

As Rush says, always look for the money trail.

[PJ-Comix]

We need to develop some "cammo cabanas" for our shy boys.

Several years ago I was traveling and working myself around the country. To save expenses I started camping out and really enjoyed it. I called my mother long distance soon afterwards and let her know that I cut expenses by camping out in the countryside. I'll never forget my mother's response which reminds me of Hack's comment:

"But...but where do you go to the bathroom?"

[Norse]

>Hackworth is delusional and stupid --- A loser through and through. ....(with a bad Roman faggot haircut).

Hold on now, that's being a little harsh toward the man. He's an American hero...but as people get old, like he is, the mind starts to shrink, especially in males. Remember that...