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tw · 04-18-2007, 07:15 PM

Iraq took a major downturn into greater civil war. Shia support for Iraq's government withdrew. Reason was that Maliki will not set a timetable for Iraq's enemy - US - to withdrawal. This is followed by bombings that killed 180+ while an American surge (with too few troops) was supposed to be reducing violence.

Interesting are excerpts from PBS's America at a Crossroad where Iraqi soldiers working with Americans to round up insurgent weapon caches are caught on tape saying the larger cache is safely elsewhere. Why do Iraqi Army units fail to follow up in supporting Americans? Why did S Vietnamese units do so poorly without being attached to American units / operations?

Deja vue ... complete with presidential lies about America winning the war, "we must fight them there or here" (Domino Theory), denial of who the enemy really is (surrogates for Russia and China), 'the message' that only got more Americans killed, liberation of people who did not want to be liberated, outright denial of basic military doctrine, a press that is reporting things too negative (when the situation was even worse), an enemy that successfully uses booby traps while not conducting frontal attacks (classic guerrilla warfare), outright denial of conclusions by a study group (the Wise Men), spending money massively and without accounting, and a complete denial that it was a civil war. Nam deja vue.

Hope was that a surge would be long enough and successful enough to permit all sided to start reconciliation. Hope is diminishing quickly this week. Either we start what the ISG recommends now or we accept thousands more death Americans, an Iraq that hates America, and a defeat that is even worse. George Jr continues to advocate 'big dic' thinking (ie we are winning) so that "Mission Accomplished" is not lost on his watch - as was Nixon's agenda. Both presidents being the few who are clearly anti-American - more concerned with a political agenda and with their legacy than in the United States.

Worse are the many who still deny how much worse it will become. Had we been Turkey or Greece and done this to Iraq, then we (as Turkey or Greece) would have been condemned alongside Serbia and Darfur as promoters of genocide.

While so many were watching lesser events (Imus firing; VA shooting), Iraq may have taken what an irreversible turn for the worse.

04-18-2007, 07:15 PM	#20
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	Iraq took a major downturn into greater civil war. Shia support for Iraq's government withdrew. Reason was that Maliki will not set a timetable for Iraq's enemy - US - to withdrawal. This is followed by bombings that killed 180+ while an American surge (with too few troops) was supposed to be reducing violence. Interesting are excerpts from PBS's America at a Crossroad where Iraqi soldiers working with Americans to round up insurgent weapon caches are caught on tape saying the larger cache is safely elsewhere. Why do Iraqi Army units fail to follow up in supporting Americans? Why did S Vietnamese units do so poorly without being attached to American units / operations? Deja vue ... complete with presidential lies about America winning the war, "we must fight them there or here" (Domino Theory), denial of who the enemy really is (surrogates for Russia and China), 'the message' that only got more Americans killed, liberation of people who did not want to be liberated, outright denial of basic military doctrine, a press that is reporting things too negative (when the situation was even worse), an enemy that successfully uses booby traps while not conducting frontal attacks (classic guerrilla warfare), outright denial of conclusions by a study group (the Wise Men), spending money massively and without accounting, and a complete denial that it was a civil war. Nam deja vue. Hope was that a surge would be long enough and successful enough to permit all sided to start reconciliation. Hope is diminishing quickly this week. Either we start what the ISG recommends now or we accept thousands more death Americans, an Iraq that hates America, and a defeat that is even worse. George Jr continues to advocate 'big dic' thinking (ie we are winning) so that "Mission Accomplished" is not lost on his watch - as was Nixon's agenda. Both presidents being the few who are clearly anti-American - more concerned with a political agenda and with their legacy than in the United States. Worse are the many who still deny how much worse it will become. Had we been Turkey or Greece and done this to Iraq, then we (as Turkey or Greece) would have been condemned alongside Serbia and Darfur as promoters of genocide. While so many were watching lesser events (Imus firing; VA shooting), Iraq may have taken what an irreversible turn for the worse.