RE: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,154677,00.html


Hmmm, won't see this on the major networks.


Many branches but one brotherhood!

quote:

Originally posted by MTCRetired:
Hmmm, won't see this on the major networks.
Many branches but one brotherhood!

That's because the drop in casualties is bad news for the far-right conservatives who control many media corporations. It means the "war-fighting, nation-building, peace-making" strategy of Gens. Petraeus and Mattis is working.

The far-right is on-record as opposing Petraeus-style "nation-building" and "peace-making" intervention. Because the free market is supposed to take care of those missions automatically, with no government intervention.

The far-right fears that successful nation-building and peace-making in Iraq, will soon lead to successful nation-building and peace-making at home ... which amount to a left-wing domestic agenda.

That is why the farthest-right candidates (Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan, for example), definitely do *not* support war effort. And even the center-right candidates (Huckabee, Romney, Thompson for example) definitely prefer to fight the war "on the cheap".

All of these candidates IMHO prefer to lose the war, rather than abandon their precious ideology. The resulting "war on the cheap" is a disaster for our brave soldiers.

Today's far-right and the center-right candidates are following the same political strategy in Iraq, that Nixon followed in Vietnam: claim (falsely) to have a plan for victory, appeal to patriotism, then once elected, abandon the war.

That is why the farthest-right candidates---very quietly and indirectly---are doing their best to sabotage the war effort. They are in this respect no less harmful than the farthest-left candidates (Edwards and Kucinich, for example).

These actions are wholly unacceptable. I reject equally the far-right and the far-left. Both will lead this nation, and our brave soldiers, only to disgrace and defeat.

Bad news for the congressional "5th column".

What does the far right and left have to do with anything as far as elections? They never get elected anyway. The one with the most money wins and they don't have enough money.

I'm glad we're losing a lot less people, but we are now giving both sides new weapons and money to buy them while civilian deaths are still running about 1000 a month.

This administration, and obviously a lot of people here, don't understand that those people hate us. They will say what we want to hear and take our money and weapons and in a few months turn around and use them on us.

Yet, our government, in desperation to make it look like we're spending 12 billion a month on the war and getting something for it, will accept any line of garbage the enemy throws at us and we rearm them.

As a group they hate us, and blood and nationalism runs thicker than water. We still haven't learned anything from Vietnam or watching the Russians getting their butts handed to them in Afghanistan. They hate us and they have all the patience in the world to wait us out.

quote:

Originally posted by OneThreeMarine:

As a group [the Iraqis and Afghanis] hate us, and blood and nationalism runs thicker than water. We still haven't learned anything from Vietnam or watching the Russians getting their butts handed to them in Afghanistan.

They hate us and they have all the patience in the world to wait us out.

Undeniably true.

On the other hand, the Indians hated the British, and eventually kicked them out. But not before the British Raj had instilled a tradition of (somewhat imperfect) democracy and (even more imperfect) religious tolerance.

Overall, India was a huge success ... that took eighty-nine years to complete.

America had better elect foresighted leaders who will treat "war-fighting, nation-building, and peace-making" as a single integrated mission. Because that's the way it has to be.

This fine story tells exactly how to integrate these three fronts of the war!

Semper Fi! to all who are working to win, on all three fronts of this war!

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: usmc_family,

now all we have to do is wait for bwf or rockriver to get in here and say its all a right wing conspiracy so the libs will lose seats and maybe the whitehouse blah blah blah. yeah right! my son in law got home ystdy from anbar province, was there for 15 months. he said it was pretty rough when they got there, but was pretty good when they left 2 days ago. semper fi to all of our troops, they are doing a great job.

I wish I could be more positive about these events in Iraq. But I cannot help feeling we are being played by both the Sunni and Shiia. I believe both sides have made a tactical decision toward the future. Both the Sunni and Shiia know they cannot defeat us militarily so why continue to fight us? They also both know they have to rid Iraq of outside influences from radical and extreme Islamists. What better way to do so than by helping the Americans root them out and killing them.

So, I believe their expectations are, keep things cool with America, we see what is believed to be stability, and eventually begin to remove troops from Iraq. Our efforts have allowed the Iraqi Sunni and Shiia to regroup, rearm, reman and when the time is right, they both finally go at each other for control of Iraq.

This scenario may take a couple of years to unfold, both sides are very patient and calculating. They realize the only way to finally see who will control Iraq is by getting US troops out of the way. Perhaps two years down the road we will have very few combat assets in Iraq and we would be unable to intervene in such an event. No matter our claim to our current success, we have divided Iraq into two seperate camps (well, three if you count the Kurds). There is still very liitle cooperation between Sunni and Shiia, and most members of the Iraqi government have stated the two sides will never reconcile their differences. Sooner or later the situation will have to be addressed.

S/F Gordon

Back and forth put aside for a moment this is great and wonderful news.

One or more kids will live to make it back home that would have died or worst.

The moment over, Iraq the five star Cluster_F will continue. Better sometimes and bad many times.

S/F Gordon...Very cogent comments and analysis. Unfortunately, too many folks have blinders on and can't see the forest for the trees...Especially those in the Executive Branch!

Let's see what happens on the north front as Turkey crosses the border and takes on the rebels.

Since the Generals now in charge have ALL recently said that Al Quida is now defeated in IRAQ, they why we are even THERE anymore is the real question that needs to be answered.

I mean, what sort of "Victory" is Victory enough?

quote:

Originally posted by sandidge:
now all we have to do is wait for bwf or rockriver to get in here and say its all a right wing conspiracy so the libs will lose seats and maybe the whitehouse blah blah blah. yeah right! my son in law got home ystdy from anbar province, was there for 15 months. he said it was pretty rough when they got there, but was pretty good when they left 2 days ago. semper fi to all of our troops, they are doing a great job.

Our son, also just back from Anbar, says exactly the same, and we echo your "Semper Fi" to all of our troops too. Yes our troops are doing a great job. It is America's plain duty to supply them with all that they need, to keep doing that job.

Yeah it's great news that only 65 died! Woohoo, party at their house...Oh wait...never mind...

I will only be happy when 0 die...If that happens because we stayed and fought, great. If that happens because we declare victory and leave, great. I just want the deaths to end (not slightly diminsh...) Here is a great quote.

High-ranking commanders agreed with the assessment, saying that the scarcely atrocious incident of mass violence was just one in a recent string of less than dreadful occurrences in the not quite as, but still very troubled region. Last week's suicide bombing of two schools in Fallujah, for example, left nowhere near 500 Iraqi children dead, and Thursday's sniping of three U.S. soldiers killed just two instantly, while the other, a 19-year-old Marine, was able to survive for nearly a whole day before succumbing to internal injuries.

"This just shows that we are getting to a point where things here aren't absolutely appalling and are now consistently just god- awful," U.S. Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "And that's great."

quote:

Originally posted by anoldnotboldrecondo:
Back and forth put aside for a moment this is great and wonderful news.

One or more kids will live to make it back home that would have died or worst.

The moment over, Iraq the five star Cluster_F will continue. Better sometimes and bad many times.

quote:

Originally posted by usmc_family:

quote:

Originally posted by sandidge:
now all we have to do is wait for bwf or rockriver to get in here and say its all a right wing conspiracy so the libs will lose seats and maybe the whitehouse blah blah blah. yeah right! my son in law got home ystdy from anbar province, was there for 15 months. he said it was pretty rough when they got there, but was pretty good when they left 2 days ago. semper fi to all of our troops, they are doing a great job.

Our son, also just back from Anbar, says exactly the same, and we echo your "Semper Fi" to all of our troops too. Yes our troops are doing a great job. It is America's plain duty to supply them with all that they need, to keep doing that job.

This is the real story--right from those recently returned.

quote:

Originally posted by Holynotsomuch: Yeah it's great news that only 65 died! Woohoo, party at their house...Oh wait...never mind...

This is an offensive and disrespectful post, IMHO.

Kinda like arming Bin Laden against the Russians (sorry if my history is off)

quote:

Originally posted by uh34d:
I wish I could be more positive about these events in Iraq. But I cannot help feeling we are being played by both the Sunni and Shiia. I believe both sides have made a tactical decision toward the future. Both the Sunni and Shiia know they cannot defeat us militarily so why continue to fight us? They also both know they have to rid Iraq of outside influences from radical and extreme Islamists. What better way to do so than by helping the Americans root them out and killing them.

So, I believe their expectations are, keep things cool with America, we see what is believed to be stability, and eventually begin to remove troops from Iraq. Our efforts have allowed the Iraqi Sunni and Shiia to regroup, rearm, reman and when the time is right, they both finally go at each other for control of Iraq.

This scenario may take a couple of years to unfold, both sides are very patient and calculating. They realize the only way to finally see who will control Iraq is by getting US troops out of the way. Perhaps two years down the road we will have very few combat assets in Iraq and we would be unable to intervene in such an event. No matter our claim to our current success, we have divided Iraq into two seperate camps (well, three if you count the Kurds). There is still very liitle cooperation between Sunni and Shiia, and most members of the Iraqi government have stated the two sides will never reconcile their differences. Sooner or later the situation will have to be addressed.

S/F Gordon

quote:

Originally posted by uh34d:
I wish I could be more positive about these events in Iraq. But I cannot help feeling we are being played by both the Sunni and Shiia. I believe both sides have made a tactical decision toward the future. Both the Sunni and Shiia know they cannot defeat us militarily so why continue to fight us? They also both know they have to rid Iraq of outside influences from radical and extreme Islamists. What better way to do so than by helping the Americans root them out and killing them.

So, I believe their expectations are, keep things cool with America, we see what is believed to be stability, and eventually begin to remove troops from Iraq. Our efforts have allowed the Iraqi Sunni and Shiia to regroup, rearm, reman and when the time is right, they both finally go at each other for control of Iraq.

This scenario may take a couple of years to unfold, both sides are very patient and calculating. They realize the only way to finally see who will control Iraq is by getting US troops out of the way. Perhaps two years down the road we will have very few combat assets in Iraq and we would be unable to intervene in such an event. No matter our claim to our current success, we have divided Iraq into two seperate camps (well, three if you count the Kurds). There is still very liitle cooperation between Sunni and Shiia, and most members of the Iraqi government have stated the two sides will never reconcile their differences. Sooner or later the situation will have to be addressed.

S/F Gordon

translation: The surge has worked as planned, but I can't admit it openly

quote:

Originally posted by usmc_family:

quote:

Originally posted by Holynotsomuch: Yeah it's great news that only 65 died! Woohoo, party at their house...Oh wait...never mind...

This is an offensive and disrespectful post, IMHO.

Yes...I agree...

Ummm, no that was not what he was saying. He was saying that just like other great evils we have funded that have betrayed us, we must look for the knife in the back...
If that was the plan of the surge...My god!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 6486143:

quote:

Originally posted by uh34d:
I wish I could be more positive about these events in Iraq. But I cannot help feeling we are being played by both the Sunni and Shiia. I believe both sides have made a tactical decision toward the future. Both the Sunni and Shiia know they cannot defeat us militarily so why continue to fight us? They also both know they have to rid Iraq of outside influences from radical and extreme Islamists. What better way to do so than by helping the Americans root them out and killing them.

So, I believe their expectations are, keep things cool with America, we see what is believed to be stability, and eventually begin to remove troops from Iraq. Our efforts have allowed the Iraqi Sunni and Shiia to regroup, rearm, reman and when the time is right, they both finally go at each other for control of Iraq.

This scenario may take a couple of years to unfold, both sides are very patient and calculating. They realize the only way to finally see who will control Iraq is by getting US troops out of the way. Perhaps two years down the road we will have very few combat assets in Iraq and we would be unable to intervene in such an event. No matter our claim to our current success, we have divided Iraq into two seperate camps (well, three if you count the Kurds). There is still very liitle cooperation between Sunni and Shiia, and most members of the Iraqi government have stated the two sides will never reconcile their differences. Sooner or later the situation will have to be addressed.

S/F Gordon

translation: The surge has worked as planned, but I can't admit it openly

quote:

Originally posted by clarkpaton:

quote:

Originally posted by usmc_family:

quote:

Originally posted by sandidge:
now all we have to do is wait for bwf or rockriver to get in here and say its all a right wing conspiracy so the libs will lose seats and maybe the whitehouse blah blah blah. yeah right! my son in law got home ystdy from anbar province, was there for 15 months. he said it was pretty rough when they got there, but was pretty good when they left 2 days ago. semper fi to all of our troops, they are doing a great job.

Our son, also just back from Anbar, says exactly the same, and we echo your "Semper Fi" to all of our troops too. Yes our troops are doing a great job. It is America's plain duty to supply them with all that they need, to keep doing that job.

This is the real story--right from those recently returned.

To amplify, rural Anbar is now dead quiet, but the larger cities still have problems.

The main struggles in Iraq now include (a) restore a functioning Iraqi justice system, (b) vastly increase the number of family-supporting jobs, (c) rehabilitate low-level insurgents, "undecideds", and "wannabees"---bring them "inside the system".

Obviously (c) can't succeed until (a) and (b) are in-place.

For those who have been asking "what constitutes victory?", the answer begins with "achieving (a-c) in the larger Iraq cities".

This is the nuts-and-bolts reality of war-fighting, nation-building, and peace-making.

IMHO, locking-in (a-c) should be the main focus of the National Security Council.