“Outgoing U.S. Marine commander questions American strategy”

[Cyrus]

Another snafu in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

As if! /images/graemlins/cool.gif



CNN Report (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/13/falluja/index.html)

[ACPlayer]

First we create the terrorists and then we arm them. Welcome to "war on terror" -- truly bush league.

From the article linked to at the top of the thread

The United States gave the Falluja Brigade thousands of uniforms, hundreds of weapons and dozens of radios and trucks. The Marines have asked for them to be returned, and the brigade's former commander has agreed, but there are reports that much of the material is now in the hands of insurgents.

[Stu Pidasso]

[ QUOTE ]
Another snafu in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

As if!


[/ QUOTE ]

I will admit this administrations handling of the occupation has sucked ass.

Stu

[Boris]

I don't know how you can say that. You will be able to find situations to second guess with 100% certainty. This one story does not demonstrate that our occupation has "sucked ass". What truely sucked ass was the decision making process that lead to the invasion. What really sucked ass is that the Taliban is still a major power in Afghanistan. What really sucked ass is that gutless Democrats and press corps mindlessly followed the Bush administration leading up to the war and now wants to nitpick every little thing that goes wrong. I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of our troops are doing their level best to bring stability to Iraq. The situation is difficult and there is no need to be a nit.

[Stu Pidasso]

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I don't know how you can say that. You will be able to find situations to second guess with 100% certainty. This one story does not demonstrate that our occupation has "sucked ass".

[/ QUOTE ]

I say that because when I first heard about Al Sadr , I thought to myself, "Here is a guy who needs to sleep with the fishes before he establishes any kind of power base". When I heard we were stopping our attack on Falluja short of completing our objectives, I had this feeling that in the end Falluja would become an even stronger base for the insurgency. I can think of plenty of other examples of where I foresaw mistakes this administration has made in this occupation. My opinion is not based on this one story.

[ QUOTE ]
What truely sucked ass was the decision making process that lead to the invasion. What really sucked ass is that the Taliban is still a major power in Afghanistan.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think we are doing a good job in Afghanistan and I still believe going into Iraq was the correct thing to do.

Stu

[Chris Alger]

Someone mentioned below that one reason that justified the invasion was Saddam's record of "miscalculation." Then there's this:

"While the [Falluja Brigade of former Iraqi soldiers] had high hopes from Iraqis, it got little accomplished, and reports of soldiers mixing with insurgents eventually led to the end of the brigade. The Falluja Brigade, labeled by Conway as an experiment, was dissolved last week, and former members were offered a chance to join the Iraqi army. . . . The United States gave the Falluja Brigade thousands of uniforms, hundreds of weapons and dozens of radios and trucks. The Marines have asked for them to be returned, and the brigade's former commander has agreed, but there are reports that much of the material is now in the hands of insurgents."

We hired Saddam's Falujans to kill their neighbors, gave them tons of weapons and materiel, and had to disband them when, surprise surprise, it turns out they'd rather kill us. F*ck! Why can't the U.S. catch a break?

I wonder how they handled the request to return all their neat American stuff. Maybe everyone got a memo, copies of it now on walls all over Faluja for laughs.

[MMMMMM]

Not destroying the Fallujah insurgents and the al-Sadr insurgents were significant mistakes IMO...a bit like the grand mistake made at Tora Bora, but on smaller scale.

[ACPlayer]

Of course the single biggest blunder was going into Iraq.

[Utah]

Do you actually read the crap you post?

Whats your point. That there was some question over the strategy employed. Golly!! You would never expect that would you? My God!! Do people actually have different opinions?

The general is simply saying that he wished that he was allowed to continue to reign holy hell on the insurgents.

Is there something more to this story? How is this an indictment on the Iraq war. My guess is that you are so desperate for material that you will grab anything.

What's next. Are you going to post a story from a former soldier that said they ran out of hashbrowns and biscuits each morning and then use that story to talk about how Bush cant even manage the morning hashbrowns and that is a stinging endictment of the war?

[Cyrus]

The Marine general was upset that there is no strategy in this war against insurgents, that there are no clear objectives in the political front (e.g. are the Shiites to be cowered into submission or used as allies against the Saddam-friendly Sunnis? etc), that there's no co-ordination between the various factions ruling over the American presence in Iraq (the usual melée of politicians, spooks and brass), that there's no understanding in Washington for what goes on down Iraq way, that the United States --and his Marines in particular-- are paying the price and feeling frustrated with all the snafus (i.e. seeing their materiel ending up in the hands of Al Sadr, etc).

You should realize that the American brass is usally very reserved in public about things. Especially when a war is still going on full blast! Especially when the brass is goddamn semper-fi U.S. Marine brass!

The Marine general felt he had to step over the line and say, through clenched teeth, what he had to say.

But you were not paying attention.

[Stu Pidasso]

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Of course the single biggest blunder was going into Iraq.

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The single biggest blunder was not going to Baghdad in 1991.

Stu

[ACPlayer]

Colin Powell had it right, unless the mission and exit strategy are defined dont send the troops.

1991 Mission was defined and accomplished and exit strategy in place.

1991 to 2001 - Political SNAFU actually gave SH more power to control his people. Clinton, UN allow situation to fester without well defined strategy.
2001 - GWB blindly decides to go into Iraq (before he was elected!!) is job one. Again without clear strategy and exit plan not to mention no good reason for the timing anyway - ignoring Powell doctrine.

So a good ol' cluster copulation.

Clinton handled it incompetently, GWB is handling it dangerously and incompetently.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
Someone mentioned below that one reason that justified the invasion was Saddam's record of "miscalculation."

[/ QUOTE ]

That someone was John Kerry, I posted a quote from Kerry.

[Utah]

[ QUOTE ]
The Marine general was upset that there is no strategy in this war against insurgents, that there are no clear objectives in the political front (e.g. are the Shiites to be cowered into submission or used as allies against the Saddam-friendly Sunnis? etc), that there's no co-ordination between the various factions ruling over the American presence in Iraq (the usual melée of politicians, spooks and brass), that there's no understanding in Washington for what goes on down Iraq way, that the United States --and his Marines in particular-- are paying the price and feeling frustrated with all the snafus (i.e. seeing their materiel ending up in the hands of Al Sadr, etc).

[/ QUOTE ]

Please point to the quote by the general where he says this. I didnt see it, but I stand corrected if he did. All I saw him say was that he didnt like the fact that his attack was stopped.

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You should realize that the American brass is usally very reserved in public about things

[/ QUOTE ]

ummm...no. Stormin Norman complained publicly when Bush 1 stopped him from going into badgad. I am sure you read that to mean that Norman thought it meant that the U.S. had no plan in Gulf 1, the war was a disaster, and that the U.S. shouldnt have attacked in the first place.