You just hit the nail on the head -- our failure to follow through back in April emboldened the enemy in Fallujah and radical Islamists throughout the Middle East. We made a strategic blunder by allowing ourselves to be perceived as weak, indecisive, and afraid of a bloody urban battle. We corrected the mistake in a big way, and must now keep driving the right message.
I tried to keep an open mind last April, even though I thought then what I think now. It wasn't easy. I spouted off a few times.
The problem for us is that we're not privy to the diplomatic nuances that are transpiring in real time. We have foreign nationals we want to keep on our side. We have political appointments we don't want to offend or undercut. We have operations that must be maintained. We have an enemy that must not be overly encouraged by our lack of action.
This is a four ring circus that must be cooridated to the inth degree. It's tough, and I don't think I should be too critical. There have been a few times when I've had to grit my teeth and bear it. It's a lot easier for me, than it is for our men on the ground.
Bush has done a fairly good job in Iraq. I don't fault him on that front, even though I might have liked to have seen some things handled differently. But honestly, I can't truly tell for sure, so I've tried to maintain silence on that front as much as possible.
I wish our troops well and hope that Rumsfeld and Bush are able to keep level heads and achieve a stable government for the Iraqis, the region's and our own benefit.
Wars are seldom won in straight lines. Courses are set, corrections are made, losses are dealt with, and objectives are achieved.
Bush, Rumsfeld and the rest of the team deserve kudos for their efforts. I truly believe they have done the best anyone could have over the last few years.
It really angers me to see the media spin against the U.S. and our troops on the ground non-stop. It really angers me how the left plays off of this for political gain.
There are some things that need to be address regarding our war effort. Those things center around our MSM and their socialist pals. I believe in a free press. I also believe in the public telling that press to go to hell if it hasn't got any more common sense than our MSM does today.