"And we wonder why we have all but lost this war."
Andrew is getting the vapors again. Every time something goes "boom" in Iraq he shrieks and cowers under the nearest potted plant. Seriously. It's be something to behold watching him slide from fearsome hawk to chicken little inside of a year. I wonder if he knew what war was before we had one. He's not a dumb guy by any stretch but I think the entirety of his understanding of war is shaped by Gulf War 1. That was a truly remarkable feat at its time but it's not even in the same ballpark as what we're up against now.
The casualty rates we're seeing now pale in comparison to Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and so on.
The Iron Lady once remarked "Don't go all wobbly on me now George." I feel the same way.
This is an ugly business and whether you supported the war or not, whether you believe it's connected to the GWOT or not, you have to admit that we cannot pull out now. The results would be catastrophic.
Andrew thinks this is the endstage and the clock is ticking down. This where he errs. Time is on our side, not theirs. As we draw inexorably closer to the deadline of elections, the Iraqis are more hopeful about the future. Once the new government is in place they will be able to take over many things that are now done by the CPA. Public works, mail and the daily business of running a nation-state. Additionally, the CPA continues to train both regular police forces and SWAT/Assault teams to take the lead in CT ops. It is vastly underreported that Iraqis have been leading many of the assaults on terrorist positions. They lead the way into places our troops cannot go, like mosques.
As these groups grow in number their will be very effective combat multipliers. They will be able to make inroads with the local population that we are not. They are locals and we are foreigners. No matter how much people may support the Coalition troops they are still foreigners and there's an element of distrust there. Not so with Iraqi troops. Even the most resistant Iraqis will not tolerate attacks on their own countrymen when they are acting on behalf of an elected Iraqi government. I am both hopeful and confident that if we stay the course we will establish an Iraqi democracy albiet a fragile one. It will take time and care to shepherd it though it's nascent stages.
Andrew is getting the vapors again. Every time something goes "boom" in Iraq he shrieks and cowers under the nearest potted plant. Seriously. It's be something to behold watching him slide from fearsome hawk to chicken little inside of a year. I wonder if he knew what war was before we had one. He's not a dumb guy by any stretch but I think the entirety of his understanding of war is shaped by Gulf War 1. That was a truly remarkable feat at its time but it's not even in the same ballpark as what we're up against now.
The casualty rates we're seeing now pale in comparison to Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and so on.
The Iron Lady once remarked "Don't go all wobbly on me now George." I feel the same way.
This is an ugly business and whether you supported the war or not, whether you believe it's connected to the GWOT or not, you have to admit that we cannot pull out now. The results would be catastrophic.
Andrew thinks this is the endstage and the clock is ticking down. This where he errs. Time is on our side, not theirs. As we draw inexorably closer to the deadline of elections, the Iraqis are more hopeful about the future. Once the new government is in place they will be able to take over many things that are now done by the CPA. Public works, mail and the daily business of running a nation-state. Additionally, the CPA continues to train both regular police forces and SWAT/Assault teams to take the lead in CT ops. It is vastly underreported that Iraqis have been leading many of the assaults on terrorist positions. They lead the way into places our troops cannot go, like mosques.
As these groups grow in number their will be very effective combat multipliers. They will be able to make inroads with the local population that we are not. They are locals and we are foreigners. No matter how much people may support the Coalition troops they are still foreigners and there's an element of distrust there. Not so with Iraqi troops. Even the most resistant Iraqis will not tolerate attacks on their own countrymen when they are acting on behalf of an elected Iraqi government. I am both hopeful and confident that if we stay the course we will establish an Iraqi democracy albiet a fragile one. It will take time and care to shepherd it though it's nascent stages.
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