Posted on 04/27/2007 7:04:31 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
In Iraq we have fought a Limited War for Limited Pacification, which has resulted in a perpetual, if limited, war zone. At about $200 million a day, this war may not sound very "limited," but consider where "Sunni insurgents," "Shi'ite militias," and assorted thugs and jihadi groups go at night after a hard day's maiming and killing and IED-ing. They go home to safe houses. Now, ask yourself whether, say, a George Patton or a Curtis LeMay would allow them to wake up again, chow down breakfast and return to maim, kill and IED another day...
Such generals would have seen to it that the enemy's home, his neighborhood, his entire town if necessary, was destroyed, doubtless killing innocent (and not innocent) civilians in the process. Total War. It's ugly and barbaric, but it leads to Total Pacification, not to mention Total Victory, which is supposed to be the point...
Win their allegiance -- is he kidding? I hate to be the one to break it to Gen. Petraeus, not to mention President Bush, but the fact is, in an Islamic war zone, an "infidel" army just isn't going to win Islamic allegiance... portraying jihadist war goals (Shariah, caliphate) as belonging to a "tiny band of extremists" is nuts...
But such PC fantasy fuels hearts-and-minds efforts that go beyond "allegiance"-winning outposts in Iraq as the United States now weirdly cheers on world Islamization to curry Islamic favor. "Just a reminder to the predominantly Muslim-led government in this world," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos at a recent Kosovo hearing, as reported by journalist Julia Gorin. "Here is yet another example that the United States leads the way for the creation of a predominantly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Make Iraq “free-fire” for three or four days. Just don’t hit the stuff we paid for.
If it becomes a problem, level it again.
It's cheaper - in American lives lost, time, armaments, etc.
If the Romans could see us now, they would be laughing their a$$e$ off at our limited wars.
Dead Romans have been laughting their rears off at us since Vietnam.
I see your Viet Nam and raise you a Korean Conflict.
Funny Patton, LeMay were mentioned....
As Patton would likely say (of the author)...”at least one sob knows what he/she is talking about!”
“Someday, when the war in Iraq has become a historical episode, we will tally up the lessons learned-if, that is, we ever learn any. Here are two worth mastering because failing to do so probably means we will no longer exist.
Lesson 1. Nation-building in a war zone is nuts. Nation-building in an Islamic war zone is suicide.”
It was the course of action we AND our coalition partners took. All harsher options still remain on the table. What was Diana West’s pre-war position?
She was pretty much for it, if I remember right. She writes a regular column in the Times.
The only time we should be thinking about “hearts and minds” is when were looking for a place to put our bullets.
"Accordingto WorldPublicOpinion.org, more than half of those polled in Indonesia, and three-quarters of those polled in Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan believe in the strict application of Shariah, or Islamic law. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents expressed their desire to see the Islamic world united in a caliphate."
There is no "moderate Islam". There IS broad support THROUGHOUT the Islamic world for jihad against the West.
We ignore such support at our own peril.
Iraq is but one battle zone in a far greater war by an enemy that will consume us all, if given the chance.
- John
All the more reason to abandon Limited and go for All Out.
I found it curious W.T. Sherman was not. Love him or hate him, he knew how to take the fight to his enemy and hit where it hurts.
Instead of this $200 million a day shooting gallery for the jihadists.
Moderate Muslims predominate in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country. Ours to lose, according to Hitchens.
*applause*
Result: instant Democracy! Everyone would be equal because everyone would be dead!"
I still regret that Carter stopped our development of the neutron bomb, which would be much more useful in this situation.
For the moment, but the radical nutjobs are fast taking over; it's just a matter of time before they're in control there too, using a mixture of political action, terror, and assassination.
Don't just rely on Hitchens for your information.
OOoooooo... my new tagline!
The great short-sightedness in all of this, at this point, is that we are dealing with an enemy whose very modus operandi is to target innocent civilians and recruit them for suicide missions. We are dealing with an enemy who, win or lose, will kill civilians anyway, and with great fervor. This mindest is so perverted, the implementation of conventional moral guidelines only increases their power and increases the pain and suffering among innocent civilians who are quite literally at their mercy.
Put it this way. If the hostage-taker starts shooting the hostages, the proper response of law enforcement is to go in with guns blazing. Under normal circumstances, where it is more likely than not that the hostage taker can be appealed to not to harm his innocent captive, law enforcement rightly bides its time and negotiates a release of the innocent. In this circumstance, the hostage taker (Al Qaeda, Iranian insurgents, etc.) are systematically killing their hostages (the Iraqi populace), and we’re wringing our hands over conventional guidelines which are impotent in the face of such wickedness.
Sadly, there is no other way to do this. But as hundreds and hundreds of civilians are being ruthlessly slaughtered AT ANY RATE, we fear killing them in the process of destroying the malignant cancer in their midst. At the end of the day, we need to be confident that our goal of bringing peace and prosperity to Iraq, is morally superior to the goal of Al Qaeda to simply re-create hell on earth, breaking every convention known to man in doing so. The problem is, incredibly, a crisis of confidence that we hold the moral upper hand. Until we realize that we’re not the bad guys, contrary to the media, the only outcome of this war is a defeat for the good guys.
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