Article

2008-04-18 Iraq

Pentagon institute calls Iraq war `a major debacle'

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Posted by ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2008-04-18 00:54|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 Don't really know what to make of this. Points out some pretty obvious issues with the way the war has been handled. Certainly points a finger at Rummy and others for having a too cavalier attitude about going in. But the author still says the war is a must-win. Perhaps the reporting on the report is suspect.

Hindsight is 20/20. We should have gone in, if at all, with a bigger force. We should have imposed martial law for a period of time, during which we should have focused on understanding who was who in the country and trying to shore up basic services.

But I say all this and wonder whether any of it would have done any good without some of the locals learning the lessons they have over the past 5 years. I am suspect that the Sunnis would have played nice regardless of what we did. Maybe they had to go through AQI hell to understand that there are worse things that working with the Americans/creating a real country.

Posted by remoteman 2008-04-18 14:58|| 2008-04-18 14:58|| Front Page Top

#2 As I saw analysed somewhere today (too lazy to look it up)

There were two Iraq wars. The first one was the overthrow of Saddam and that one went like clockwork.

the second one is totally different and is a counter terrorism war AQ hasn't called this the most important battlefield for nothing.

Regardless of what you think of the first that is a moot point. Now, what about the second war?

Should we cut and run from AQ as the Dhimmis want? Or, should we fight to win?

Posted by AlanC 2008-04-18 15:07|| 2008-04-18 15:07|| Front Page Top

#3 Speaking as a complete amateur on this war-fighting thingy, (Abu Uluque was right about that, way back when), I agree with AlanC. Invasions are one thing, conquest another, at least if management refuses to put the entire male contingent of the populace to the sword.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-04-18 15:30|| 2008-04-18 15:30|| Front Page Top

#4 Alan - My Pet Jawa IIRC

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-04-18 15:49|| 2008-04-18 15:49|| Front Page Top

#5 The only way this was a major debacle was if it was decided in advance that we would rather nuke the Middle East and it's citizens en masse. It sucks that we had to take this on but it would have sucked worse had we been hit with a nuke and retaliated with the fury that act would have induced in the American body politic. We may still have to do that but if we do, at least we will be able to say we tried the other path and didn't just go for the exterminator first.

You can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Posted by Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 2008-04-18 16:45|| 2008-04-18 16:45|| Front Page Top

#6 Apparently the NDU is operated under the direction of the Joint Chiefs see
http://www.answers.com/topic/national-defense-university-1

Posted by Spanky Thagum8606 2008-04-18 17:21|| 2008-04-18 17:21|| Front Page Top

#7 I have almost the opposite opinion of the Iraq war.

While I do agree that initial combat operations were superior, in the occupation the largest lesson learned was "Do things the American way, do not try and preserve any of the defeated system."

We dissolved the Iraqi military, and in the long run, they have a better military for it. We tried to keep what police forces they had, and still have to contend with police deficiencies.

Their most functional part of government was their judicial system. We should have completely reordered it from Napoleonic Law to Common Law. Not doing so was both a short and long term error.

We should have imposed their first constitution, and they should have been under that constitution until the day we left. By then, they probably wouldn't have wanted to change it.

The bottom line is that we should have forced them to have efficient, modern systems from the very start. Doing so would suck the life out of their wanting to do things "the old way".

We should have also used biometric technology to ID and make an ID card for everyone we met. It would have saved immense amounts of time to have a national census this way, along with a US military managed database of the entire population.

It would have made the restoration of government and security much, much faster.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-04-18 21:24|| 2008-04-18 21:24|| Front Page Top

#8 TOPIX > ZAWAHIRI: MAKE IRAQ A FORTRESS OF ISLAM, + ALL AL QAEDA HAS LEFT IS SPILLING MUSLIM BLOOD AND HOPE LIBERALS WILL SURRENDER [first], + A LOOK AT AL QAEDA'S REAL CBRN CAPABILITIES.

*WND > PAT BUCHANAN - IRAN FIGHTING A PROXY WAR WITH THE US?

Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-04-18 23:27|| 2008-04-18 23:27|| Front Page Top

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