[mrustow]

So, you think our force in Iraq was one of world history's great military machines? I wish I could share your enthusiasm, but beating the lowly Iraqi army, and not even having had to face the Iraqi air force, such as it was, somehow fails to generate such enthusiasm in me. Maybe you possess some secret info the rest of us lack.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

So, you think our force in Iraq was one of world history's great military machines? I wish I could share your enthusiasm, but beating the lowly Iraqi army, and not even having had to face the Iraqi air force, such as it was, somehow fails to generate such enthusiasm in me. Maybe you possess some secret info the rest of us lack.

Careful, mister. I have it on good authority (first-hand from an F/A-18 pilot) that our men and women patrolling the skies faced some pretty stiff opposition from the Iraqi air defenses. Perhaps the Iraqi military was no match for ours this time around, but it was far from defenseless.

[section9]

Indeed I do. Despite the force reductions of the 1990's, I believe our army to be among the best in its history. Not up there with the Roman Legions, perhaps, but skippered well enough at the platoon level to engage and defeat any force on earth today. Just because they beat a bunch of sad sacks doesn't mean they aren't an excellent force. The Wehrmacht beat up on a bunch of sad sacks in France in May of 1940. It doesn't follow from the fact that the Frogs are a bunch of rifle droppers that the Germans didn't have a truly great army. The same holds true for the U.S. Army, more so for the Marine Corps. They are the best on the planet today.

With the exception of the Britain's Royal Army, of course. They are the best, period.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Colt .45]

Our victory in Iraq was planned out by some leaders who studied their tactics. "There is nothing to be gained by a long protracted war" - Sun Tzu. And G.S.P. knew and studied tactics.

But make no mistake, our Military force is the best in the world. Why? Because it is staffed by people who love their freedom enough to fight for it. They are highly disciplined, and highly effective as long as we do not allow the moral fabric of the service to be undermined by the likes of DACOWITS (Defense Assessment Committee On Women In The Service) and the Gay Rights fuqairs.