RE: Petraeus letter

I've been out of the service for 15 years, but I almost wish I was serving with him in Iraq.

Sir: Welcome to military.com.Take the time to read the rules of posting here. We need a link to a news artical to post on In The News.
Thank You

Hope springs eternal.
tacictal expertise counts.
Wars are expensive.

I say, if the Iraqi's want us there indefinitely then it's time we started being paid to be there instead of footing the bill.

Our leaders initial belief was it would cost the USA $1B to reconstruct Iraq. Well, if we're now winning, and it's gonna cost us all a lot more blood and treasure to keep them moving in the right direction, then the 3rd richest oil country on the planet should start paying our salaries and bonuses to be there instead of the US taxpayer.

The mideast has sucked off our treasure for my entire life time. Now that we depend on them for 80% of our oil, it's time they started feeling the financial pain of our services.

Maybe then they'll actually start thinking about coming up with some political solutions to stabilize and secure their nation.

Possibly rdelaney means this fine letter: Gen. Petraeus' Message to the Troops.

Actually, duplicate thread in P/CP.

This letter says nothing new.We've come a long way....still have a long way to go.BFD.

quote:

Originally posted by rm444:
This letter says nothing new.We've come a long way....still have a long way to go.BFD.

Gee, thanks for stopping by.

The progress has not, to be sure, been uniform across Baghdad or across Iraq. Accomplishments in some areas -- for example, in Ramadi and in Anbar Province -- have been greater than any of us might have predicted six months ago. The achievements in some other areas -- for example, in some particularly challenging Baghdad neighborhoods and in reducing overall civilian casualties, especially those caused by barbaric Al Qaeda bombings -- have not been dramatic. However, the overall trajectory has been encouraging, especially when compared to the situation at the height of the sectarian violence in late 2006 and early 2007.
***********************************************

Agreed. Those were the months that I was in Western Iraq. There was indeed a dramatic change in Anbar Province due to the efforts of U.S./Multi-National Forces and Iraqis alike. Of course, I'll never forget Ted Kennedy on Armed Forces Network telling his liberal news hosts what a failure Iraq, and notably Anbar Province was -- much to the hisses and words of contempt made by the troops there.

When are people going to realize that not every war is fought in under one hundred hours and followed by a big hoorah and ticker tape parades. The Global War on Terror will be a long one even after Iraq is secure.

quote:

Originally posted by usmc_family:
Possibly rdelaney means this fine letter: Gen. Petraeus' Message to the Troops.

No, family, I don't think he does ... General Petraeus wrote a new one, dated today: http://www.mnf-iraq.com/images/stories/CGs_Corner/070907_cg_mess.pdf

quote:

Many of us had hoped this summer would be a time of tangible political progress at the national level as well. One of the justifications for the surge, after all, was that it would help create the space for Iraqi leaders to tackle the tough questions and agree on key pieces of "national reconciliation" legislation. It has not worked out as we had hoped. All participants, Iraqi and coalition alike, are dissatisfied by the halting progress on major legislative initiatives such as the oil framework law, revenue sharing, and de-ba'athification reform. At the same time, however, our appreciation of what this legislation represents for Iraqi leaders has grown. These laws are truly fundamental in nature and will help determine how Iraqis will share power and resources in the new Iraq. While much work remains to be done before these critical issues are resolved, the seriousness with which Iraqi leaders came together at the summit in late August has given hope that they are up to the task before them, even if it is clearly taking more tie than we initially expected.

quote:

Originally posted by oldmole:
General Petraeus wrote a new [letter to the troops], dated today.

Thank you very sincerely, oldmole.

It is a fine letter. And also, the mark of a fine commander, that Gen Petraeus has made certain that his---and all of our---brave soldiers are the *first* to know, not the *last* to know, how things are going in Iraq.

Wow, this is surreal. I was in Vietnam in 1966 to 1968 and read the "Ten-Point Strategy" of MACV to secure Vietnam. That was the policy to win the "War of Attrition" against the North Vietnamese. The words I read in Patreus' reports seem to be what Dunderhead wants to hear and they were what Johnson wanted to hear in the late l960s. Perhaps we have a limited array of semantics with which to talk war. It all starts to sound the same after the first 150K word derivatives which is about the extent of the English language backwards and forwards. So it's all been said before unless we use "laser nukes", "cyber nukes", "space nukes", "regional nukes", "light nukes", "heavy nukes", "special nukes", or some drummed-up enigma word for nukes that will obfuscate the semantics associated with the power to obliterate the masses which oppose us. N-pod sounds like a good handle. It's all regurgitated horseshit anyway!

Have you read the thread on the loaded B-52?
One poster very eloquently called them "party favors" and "crowd pleasers". Lets touch one off.

quote:

Originally posted by dbeausoleil:
Hope springs eternal.
tacictal expertise counts.
Wars are expensive.

I say, if the Iraqi's want us there indefinitely then it's time we started being paid to be there instead of footing the bill.

Our leaders initial belief was it would cost the USA $1B to reconstruct Iraq. Well, if we're now winning, and it's gonna cost us all a lot more blood and treasure to keep them moving in the right direction, then the 3rd richest oil country on the planet should start paying our salaries and bonuses to be there instead of the US taxpayer.

The mideast has sucked off our treasure for my entire life time. Now that we depend on them for 80% of our oil, it's time they started feeling the financial pain of our services.

Maybe then they'll actually start thinking about coming up with some political solutions to stabilize and secure their nation.

We get 80% of our oil from the middle east, are you sure about that or did you just make up a number?

The countries that export the most oil to the US are

1 Canada
2 Saudi Arabia
3 Mexico
4 Venezuela
5 Nigeria

Combined Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela make of 45% of US imports and we produce about 33% of the oil we use. So where did the 80% number come from.

are the boards down today? awful quiet

The general must be a Republican or one of Bush's cohorts. Sounds like, what the cattle on the President ranch drop behind.

quote:

Originally posted by 11724253:
The general must be a Republican or one of Bush's cohorts. Sounds like, what the cattle on the President ranch drop behind.

While I am no fan of Bush or this war, you simply are not intelligent. Well, at least, that is what I gathered from your response. Do you even know anything about Petraeus?

He is playing the role of a leader right now. He is addressing his men and women and telling them the truth. There are problems, but that their efforts are not in vain. That is just good leadership. You must always put your people before anything. And, you must treat them good and they will treat you good. That is what he is doing. His follow-up with the nation may or may not be a departure from this. But, his US combat force will still know what he said to them. And, he addressed them first.

In all reality, the men and women of the services have done very well. We all know that all you can do is your best. While it would be great if everything was perfect and had success, that is not reality. He was up-front with them and gave them kudos while also listing weak points. You cannot move forward until you address those issues.

But, the public does not understand the military environment. And, to be honest, as much as I am still stuck in it, I try to see things from a civilian aspect. So, I am waiting till next week before I really form a reaction.

In reality, Petraeus reminds me of a Capt. Abrashoff type of leader (Captain of the USS Benfold 1997-1999).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 10tenths,

quote:

Originally posted by Mechanix1:
are the boards down today? awful quiet

Pending doom. The failed Bush policies are going to bring the system down to its knees. About time for another Bush tax cut for his rich friends.

I read between the lines that we cannot expect general suppression of the civil war in Iraq without at least two or three times the numbers of troops now deployed there.

The General states that with the present 180,000 troops, only a few regions can be stabilized at one time. And, when those troops are moved to stabilize a new area, the previously pacified area becomes destabilized again.

This country cannot afford to commit more than half a million troops to Iraq for an indefinite period. The only reasoned solution is to first begin withdrawing forces from Iraq immediately. Then to mount a determined peace initiative for the middle east. Success should not be expected until a new president is inaugurated with a new cabinet and vice president. Too much has been said and done for this administration to ever regain the necessary credibility with the American people or the rest of the world.

quote:

10tenths
Member

Posted Fri 07 September 2007 06:42 PM Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by 11724253:
The general must be a Republican or one of Bush's cohorts. Sounds like, what the cattle on the President ranch drop behind.


While I am no fan of Bush or this war, you simply are not intelligent. Well, at least, that is what I gathered from your response. Do you even know anything about Petraeus?

Well put 10tenths

General Petraeus and the various commands in Iraq performed well; at least when I was there, and certainly now. There will always be those who will take a stab at our efforts in Iraq, and anywhere else where there is an armed conflict with this enemy.

Good luck with your business tin can sailor. Self employment is a rush.

quote:

The only reasoned solution is to first begin withdrawing forces from Iraq immediately. Then to mount a determined peace initiative for the middle east.

Helez,

Do you call negotiating with Damascas and Tehran a "peace initiative?" It is an unfortunate fact that no Western leader ever came out on the good end of negotiations with Middle East leaders; read your history. It is too a fact, unfortunate or otherwise, that military force is often better understood by that same leadership. If you think that this war will end in Iraq, then you are mistaken sir.