Fire up the Smear Machine
There are 12 Army Captains who need to have their credibility, their judgement, their knowledge, and their experience brought into question.
Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.
. . .
Against this backdrop, the U.S. military has been trying in vain to hold the country together. Even with "the surge," we simply do not have enough soldiers and marines to meet the professed goals of clearing areas from insurgent control, holding them securely and building sustainable institutions. Though temporary reinforcing operations in places like Fallujah, An Najaf, Tal Afar, and now Baghdad may brief well on PowerPoint presentations, in practice they just push insurgents to another spot on the map and often strengthen the insurgents' cause by harassing locals to a point of swayed allegiances. Millions of Iraqis correctly recognize these actions for what they are and vote with their feet -- moving within Iraq or leaving the country entirely. Still, our colonels and generals keep holding on to flawed concepts.
Let's start with "Captain" Ed Morrissey
'Knew' Being The Operative Word
Of the twelve captains that wrote this article, not one of them has served in Iraq since General David Petraeus took over command of the mission. Not one of them served with the higher force levels that have been deployed to Iraq. None of them served during the Anbar Awakening. Most of them last served in 2005, two years ago.
Confederate Yankee
I value the writers' service and their opinions as soldiers who have served in Iraq, but wouldn't this editorial have meant more if the Washington Post had managed to find soldiers to write it who had actually been in in Iraq in the last year?
. . .
While their opinions are valuable from a historical perspective based upon what they've seen while they served, they hardly seem to be best qualified to be able to comment upon the current situation on the ground in Iraq, as it has changed so radically since the last of them departed.
Their experience shouldn't bother us too much because we've moved a few Freidman's beyond when they were serving so their knowledge of the current situation can't be as good as ours, who've never been to Iraq at all.
Experience and knowledge questioned - Check
Now let's get to the real meat, Jules Crittenden,
12 Captains
With an alarmingly poor grasp of political and military realities in Iraq and the United States weigh in with the following at the Washington Post:
Yeah, how dare a bunch of military officers who've served in iraq pretend to have any grasp of the political or military realities there?
Judgement questioned - Check
The willingness of the right to attack anyone, anyone at all, who disagrees with their agenda never ceases to amaze me.
