Things are getting rough, aren’t they? The elite media has already agreed that our Iraq policy is in shambles, or that we never had one? The fact that we haven’t leveled Fallujah once again--oh! you soft Americans--indicates to the world that we will not take the hard steps necessary to win a battle (and the war). Some say that everything is being done by the seat of our pants, from Bush to Bremer to the Marines, and on down. Everybody is an idiot. No plan, no strategy, bad tactics on the ground. Everyone is hyperventilating, from the Left to the Right. I am not convinced that the sky has fallen (the worst piece of strategic news is the mistreatment of prisoners by a few American soldiers). And, although my temptation is to level Fallujah, I also understand that that may not be prudent, given certain circumstances. Let’s all calm down and watch the developments of the next few weeks. In the meantime, see The Belmont Club, wherein it is explained how optimism is a word for nothing left to lose. Because our preservation is at stake, we will not lose. There really are people out there who think that Americans are made of cotton candy! Really? Come on now. Sit back and watch what happens and wish our troops success. This is a war, and it gets a bit foggy. The fog will lift.
"Some say that everything is being done by the seat of our pants, from Bush to Bremer to the Marines, and on down. Everybody is an idiot. No plan, no strategy, bad tactics on the ground." Change the names, and that sounds like every war there’s ever been. :-) Besides, how much of any concerted effort goes without a hitch? Especially when there are opponents who desire different outcomes?
Exactly. Just so.
Remind me of my son’s teammates comments when their soccer coach was critizing their performance on the pitch. " What does he think? that we are playing against cones?" While the endeavor is more serious and its ultimate outcome clearly more lethal, it should not be forgotten that there are two sides and the other side is trying to thwart you achieving your objectives.
I guess since not much else of interest is going on in the world, Iraq seems like big news. But if we compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges, that is, this military action to other military actions, instead of to the latest box office hit or inane utterances from candidates, we find the situation in Iraq to be stable to the point of boredom. After three weeks of (semi)conventional warfare and one year of guerilla warfare the US Army has lost around 750 soldiers. Grant, Lee, Patton, Westmoreland, et al. would have been astounded by this unprecedented display of courage, power and planning. Whatever America is doing, is seems to be working extraordinarily well.