Green Energy
At least, that's what the Iraq Study Group intends. Their great plan is to reduce US combat forces to little more than advisor status and to "engage" with Syria and Iran. Somehow images of Chamberlin holding that piece of paper aloft seem to fill my mind when i consider this as a tactic for success in Iraq. In essence though what we have is this- a plan to draw down troop strength rapidly in Iraq and prove Bin Laden's theory that the USA is a paper tiger that will fold when the going gets tough-
Bin Laden summed up his perception of Americans in an interview with ABC News reporter John Miller, published in Esquire in 1998: “After leaving Afghanistan, the Muslim fighters headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle thinking that the Americans were like the Russians. The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized, more than before, that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows……would run in defeat.”
It seems Bin Laden only one got salient point wrong- it's not the American soldier who is the paper tiger, it's the American politician. And despite the military victories of the American soldiers and Marines in Iraq, it seems that US policy is now going to be retreat, though I'm sure it won't be couched in those terms. Whatever language is used, the enemies of the United States will know one thing- they have secured a victory. They know now beyond a shadow of a doubt that the USA does not possess the strength of will to wage a long term conflict where terrorists can utilise propaganda to maximum effect. They know now that they do not have to engage with American forces to defeat them; all they need is a steady diet of high-profile carnage for the Western press to lap up. Avoid all those armed, armoured, professional soldiers and murder innocent civilians instead. Safer for them and, it seems, much more effective in defeated their actual opponent. Who knew that it was so easy to defeat the world's major superpower, without even winning a single battle in the war?
Bin Laden bet on it, and now the ISG is backing him up. I don't know what the best solution is for Iraq but one thing is for sure; leaving now before the US's stated aims are achieved means only one thing- an emboldened enemy, an enemy who is as bloodthirsty and vicious as any history has conjured. An enemy who now believes that America is not strong enough to stand against him.
God help us all.
- “the Key To Undermining American Power Is Raw Violence, The More Shocking The Better”
From “The Management of Savagery”. Published in 2004 by a jihadist who called himself Abu Bakr Naji, the book posits a world in which the superpower halo of the United States has disappeared and the Muslim world within the colonial boundaries known...
- The Headline In The Nyt Could Have Said "marines Want To Go To Afghanistan"
Instead, hiding what I think is a really good idea the headline was: Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq By THOM SHANKER WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 — The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead...
- Ahmadinejad Is All Over The Place These Days
He's coming to the UN again. He's declaring that Bush will one day be tried for his "catastrophes." He is telling the world that Israel can not "continue its life." This rant is of particular note. Check it out: Asked if Iran had launched a...
- Winds Of War: Should America Just Surrender To Islam?
From The Gathering Storm This is a short article written by Barbara J. Stock, a registered nurse who enjoys writing about politics and current events. I nominate her as our next George Patton. If one reads the editorials in many American major newspapers,...
- Lincoln And Iraq
A fantastic article in The New Republic of all places comparing the War in Iraq to the Civil War. A must read. Here are some quotes (emphasis added): Today our forces and Iraqis are fighting together and, slowly, winning a good and noble war that...
Green Energy
America Surrenders?
At least, that's what the Iraq Study Group intends. Their great plan is to reduce US combat forces to little more than advisor status and to "engage" with Syria and Iran. Somehow images of Chamberlin holding that piece of paper aloft seem to fill my mind when i consider this as a tactic for success in Iraq. In essence though what we have is this- a plan to draw down troop strength rapidly in Iraq and prove Bin Laden's theory that the USA is a paper tiger that will fold when the going gets tough-
Bin Laden summed up his perception of Americans in an interview with ABC News reporter John Miller, published in Esquire in 1998: “After leaving Afghanistan, the Muslim fighters headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle thinking that the Americans were like the Russians. The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized, more than before, that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows……would run in defeat.”
It seems Bin Laden only one got salient point wrong- it's not the American soldier who is the paper tiger, it's the American politician. And despite the military victories of the American soldiers and Marines in Iraq, it seems that US policy is now going to be retreat, though I'm sure it won't be couched in those terms. Whatever language is used, the enemies of the United States will know one thing- they have secured a victory. They know now beyond a shadow of a doubt that the USA does not possess the strength of will to wage a long term conflict where terrorists can utilise propaganda to maximum effect. They know now that they do not have to engage with American forces to defeat them; all they need is a steady diet of high-profile carnage for the Western press to lap up. Avoid all those armed, armoured, professional soldiers and murder innocent civilians instead. Safer for them and, it seems, much more effective in defeated their actual opponent. Who knew that it was so easy to defeat the world's major superpower, without even winning a single battle in the war?
Bin Laden bet on it, and now the ISG is backing him up. I don't know what the best solution is for Iraq but one thing is for sure; leaving now before the US's stated aims are achieved means only one thing- an emboldened enemy, an enemy who is as bloodthirsty and vicious as any history has conjured. An enemy who now believes that America is not strong enough to stand against him.
God help us all.
- “the Key To Undermining American Power Is Raw Violence, The More Shocking The Better”
From “The Management of Savagery”. Published in 2004 by a jihadist who called himself Abu Bakr Naji, the book posits a world in which the superpower halo of the United States has disappeared and the Muslim world within the colonial boundaries known...
- The Headline In The Nyt Could Have Said "marines Want To Go To Afghanistan"
Instead, hiding what I think is a really good idea the headline was: Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From Iraq By THOM SHANKER WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 — The Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead...
- Ahmadinejad Is All Over The Place These Days
He's coming to the UN again. He's declaring that Bush will one day be tried for his "catastrophes." He is telling the world that Israel can not "continue its life." This rant is of particular note. Check it out: Asked if Iran had launched a...
- Winds Of War: Should America Just Surrender To Islam?
From The Gathering Storm This is a short article written by Barbara J. Stock, a registered nurse who enjoys writing about politics and current events. I nominate her as our next George Patton. If one reads the editorials in many American major newspapers,...
- Lincoln And Iraq
A fantastic article in The New Republic of all places comparing the War in Iraq to the Civil War. A must read. Here are some quotes (emphasis added): Today our forces and Iraqis are fighting together and, slowly, winning a good and noble war that...