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Originally Posted by Undertoad
They definitely can - Michael Yon mentioned it in one of his dispatches.
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Pinpointing a launch is completely different from responding to that launch. Problem is not tracking incoming ordinance. Problem is getting that information to someone who can respond to it.
Even the safest place in Iraq – the Green Zone – remains far more dangerous than it was when “Mission Accomplished” was declared five years and one day ago. In an attempt to diminish those attacks, we decided to invade and wall southern Sahdr City. To mask that reality, first, we sent in our surrogate army – the Iraqis. Second, we pretend this invasion and wall are only for security of Sahdr City residents. We cannot even be honest about the purpose of that wall.
First, the Iraqis (as in Basra) conduct operations with the same vigor that S Vietnamese soldiers did. Some units get all the attention while the desertion and refusal by so many rarely gets reported. Americans are quietly replacing Iraqis in that invasion - that does not exist because the surge was so successful.
Second, the wall in southern Sahdr City is only to protect the Green Zone because Americans are so dislikes that even the Green Zone is still attacked often. We ignore that reality, in part, because routine attacks are no longer news.
What is the purpose of war? A political solution. In Nam, we confused tactical victories with the actual purpose of war. For example, if we responded to those rocket launches aggressively, then we only lose – make more enemies – make the strategic objective less possible – play into the hands of the various civil war armies. If we admit why southern Sahdr City is being invaded, then we admit no strategic objectives are being achieved. Tactical victories say so little about achieving the purpose of war - the strategic objective.
If a political settlement was ongoing or even possible, then the invasion of southern Sahdr City would not be necessary AND the Iraqi Army would operate without American troops to prod them on.
The fact that every Green Zone still comes under attack regularly says we are still looking for light at the end of the tunnel – we are winning just like in Nam.