April 10, 2004, We don't ask for experience, we give it...
This week's visit to Pravda treats us to this devastating indictment of American military readiness, which has been sorely tested by the Iraq campaign. It notes that the human element of the military has been neglected for decades, while the military focuses on hardware and super high tech toys and gadgets. (I'm reminded of a scene in Casino Royale, where David Niven's aging Sir James Bond addresses a delegation of spies from the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France, by noting that in his day, the spy was considered a high, noble art, a critical function requiring the full panoply of human skills, whereas in modern times (then, the mid-60's), they had become "joke shop spies", with poison lapel flowers, hidden guns and the like. Sorry.)
Getting back to Iraq, we learn staggering statistics-- like the percentage of field functions (such as 97% of public affairs officers, or 66% of military police, or an inconceivable 50% of combat troops) that are handled by reservists. While their understanding is they get 30 days notice of a deployment, and their deployments should last no more than say, six months, and total deployments should notal maybe a year total over a 5 or 6 year hitch, Iraq has turned all that on its head. Many reservists have been called up on 48 hours notice, and can expect to be in country... more than six months? a year? let's just say, a while... (they can get back early, I suppose, if a limb, or perhaps their head, gets blown off).
Announcements of extended deployment are way beyond strategic discretion: there just isn't anybody else around to do it, except largely the guys and gals already there. Our military is, of course, already operating in 120 countries. (Keep in mind that there are only something like 220 or so countries!) Barring a draft, we're just out of people to send over, without taking them from some other active commitment (let alone, defending "das homeland").
It was widely thought (well, I think it) that the never ending pouring of men and material by the Soviet Union into Afghanistan (where the locals had heavy support from the CIA and eventually became Mujahadeen and AL Qaeda of course) eventually ruined the Soviet military, and helped to rapidly bring down its communist imperium.
So... I got some news for all the assholes who supported this war that they knew would be carried on the backs of other people's kids: we are perilously close to being in the same situation as the near-death Soviet Union. Our international credit standing ain't so good to begin with right now, our own economy is soft, and we are pouring men and material and money down a hole- in a discretionary war (based on either outright lies, or at best on outrageously negligent "intelligence" assessments) that has long since been established as not only not in this nation's interests, but affirmatively contrary to them.
The best we can hope for is that when (not if, but when) the last departing American officials are airlifted from the roof of the ample new American embassy and the former CPA HQ in Baghdad by what's then left of our military, those American officials still have something meaningful to come home to. Those of you with your heads so far up your... that you thought it was even conceivable that the Bush Administration could do anything without fucking it up (let alone a massive, discretionary war that even POPPY BUSH refused to have because it would involve (1) years of occupation of (2) a hostile populace resulting in (3) massive American casualties), I await your apologies. For those of you still content not to question any of the tripe put out by Dear Leader out of faux patriotism and your desire to cheerlead for the home team... fuck you.
And Colin Powell-- you talked then President George H.W. Bush out of having that war in 1991 when we had 5 times as many troops on the ground as now and a massive international coalition, instead of token deployments from a number of cowed countries. Then, we were in hot pursuit of a tyrant who (1) invaded a neighboring country, (2) launched scuds at a then non-combatant country, and (3) was in the process of murdering massive numbers of his own population-- and you, Colin, managed to convince an already "Wimpy" Poppa Bush to stop at the borders of Kuwait. Later, you countermanded Clinton Administration officials orders to provide air support to troops in Somalia (out of your "caution") resulting in the unfortunate "Black Hawk Down" episode in Mogadishu credited with giving inspiration to our enemies. And now, in what promised to be an extraordinary, catastrophic fuck up, using "intelligence" you yourself acknowledged was horseshit, you lended your own credibility to this disaster and helped make it happen, when you could have kaiboshed it, with a timely resignation, or at least an appropriate public statement. In short, Colin Powell-- fuck you most of all.
Comments
i agree with you completely, altho i would have used barbed, civil outrege. in less than four years the vulcans have placed our country on the brink of disaster and almost universally hated or distrusted all over the world. and that the right wingers can revere bush is akin to something out of "invasion of the body snatchers". expect your site to get bombarded with really nasty bile and name-calling.
Posted by terrydactyl at April 10, 2004 09:37 PM
Terry--
One of the few advantages of relative obscurity is lightness on the flamings.
My right wing commentators tend to be thoughtful, and generally call me on things on which I can reasonably be called-- characterizations of things that are... challengeable (or extremely rare misstatements of actual fact; I don't remember any, but there must be some).
On this? Lemme tell you: thoughtful conservatives are beginning to cut and run-- as Dick Morris just said-- if you're gonna be the "war president", you damned well better WIN THE WAR! Our so-called liberal media is not reporting key polling showing that the IRaq fiasco is causing a Bush popularity nosedive-- NINE POINTS--blowing away his advantage from heavy advertising, and then some... Americans HATE A LOSER. Its the sports fan in this nation of beer guzzling, fat and stupid people. Its why the Mets will never draw as well as the Yankees.
Its why I commend Senator Kerry-- he is doing the right thing. When the other guy is self-destructing, get the *&^% out of his way!
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