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.

[PJ-Comix]

SHEESH!!! Talk about POOR timing for an article! Here is a typical quote:

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.

Yeah, Hack, the Iraq campaign is some disaster. Today we captured Saddam airport among such "disasters." Perhaps Hackworth can try to escape the humiliation for being so wrong in this article by claiming it was just an April Fools joke. Just look at the date it was published.

[Retrofire]

This guy's anti-Rumsfeld rhetoric is so transparent, it's frightening.

Any books he writes after this war will be pulp fiction ala Marcincko.

[Mr. Mojo]

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

[Ronin1]

Sometimes I wonder what the hell is going through Hack's mind. Its like he's jealous of what is being accomplished, just like McCaffery and all the other retired officers who turned into talking heads.

[Servant of the Nine]

Hack has consistently been wrong about our capabilities since Mogadishu.
I wonder if that didn't hit him as hard as it did Les Aspin?

So9

[Tailback]

Hackworth has really lost me as a fan. He conveniently doesn't mention that in the first Gulf War we bombed Iraqi troops for over a month before launching the ground offensive. So if you want to get technical the first Gulf War took over a month, and so far this one is only 2 weeks old.

[PJ-Comix]

I bet Hackworth wishes he could recall this article. Too late, Hack. You've made a complete fool of yourself with this poorly timed doom & gloom article.

[Illbay]

Stupid article.

He somehow fails to remember that the "100 hours" followed "100 days" of round-the-clock bombing.

This operation has gone so smoothly it exceeded my wildest expectations. Especially when you consider that they had to adjust to some things they might not have anticipated, like the illegal "guerrilla" tactics used by the Fedayeen, and not having Turkey as a transport and supply corridor.

People have criticized Rumsfeld for fighting "on the cheap," yet fail to remember that we have ongoing ops in Afghanistan, and need to keep a watchful eye on Korea.

I plan to ignore Hackworth in the future.

[thoughtomator]

What should be going through his mind right now is "which medication do I need?" He has scorched-earth what little credibility he might have still possessed. I don't see how anyone can take his point of view seriously after this.

[EternalVigilance]

More proof there is a God of justice in heaven.

;-)

[elfman2]

God I LOVE seeing that self engrossed media pig go down hard like this! YES!!!

[try phecta tom]

all my stupidity are belong to me

[bigfootbob]

"... Perhaps Hackworth can try to escape the humiliation for being so wrong in this article by claiming it was just an April Fools joke."

What the hell's wrong with this guy? His psychotropic medication needs adjustment?

[InvisibleChurch]

i remember him predicting the US was going to lose 20,000 lives during the Gulf War

[nevergore]

This war will remove Col. Hackworth as a credible source of current military strategy and techniques forever....

Shame to see him go out this way, he served his country well....

To be reduced to a shrill has-been from an outstanding warrior is sad.....

NeverGore

[konaice]

I bet Hackworth wishes he could recall this article. Too late, Hack. You've made a complete fool of yourself with this poorly timed doom & gloom article. Not only that, but his web site will not honor the feedback links, His mailbox is probably melting down even as we speak.

[overtaxed_canadian]

I saw Hackworth on Larry King last week and he was recalling how prior to GWI, he had made an analysis that predicted 50,000 American casualties. He said that he later revised it to 20,000 casualties. You'd think that being wrong by 2 orders of magnitude would give him pause to reconsider his thought process. I'm sure Hack predicted that Grenada would be another Iwo Jima.

[Tribune7]

April Fool, Hack.

[Mr. Mojo]

To be reduced to a shrill has-been from an outstanding warrior is sad.....

That reduction took place around 35 years ago.

[Conservababe]

Hackworth is on a new cause...war related diseases. He said before the war that our troops were not equipped with viable gear to withstand bio or chemical attacks. One thing he said that I laughed at was that our soldiers "do not have a place to change into their gear".

Yes, I know he was an honorable soldier, but nowdays, he seems a fruitcake.