Decisions…Decisions…Harder right versus the easier exit stage left…
By TroopTalk Trip Posted in Spotlight Blogs | War — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
If you go to school expecting to learn everything you need to learn from a book, in a classroom, or from a teacher, then you probably are going to miss out on some of the best lessons that life has to offer. With that gentle knock on home schooling aside, I have to admit it was much harder to stay awake in class than it was to stay focused on all the goings on from the Left Field Bleachers at Yankee Stadium in the spring of 1999.
I experienced a lot riding the subway to the Bronx and appreciated the Yankees providing free access to the games on my military ID, but lectures, labs, and late night study sessions hammered home a few very important lessons that stuck with me much longer than the euphoria of a Jeter/Knoblauch double play or Bernie Williams home run. Three such lessons that apply to the situation in Iraq are:
1. Real life systems cannot be simplified and explained through one variable.
2. You always make an educated guess about the results of an experiment …sometimes you are right…sometimes you are wrong. (Realism Helps)
3. Even if you are wrong…if you properly identify and explain why you were wrong…then you should be able to fix the process to find a solution.
Please read more below the fold
Iraq is a very complex problem and when I apply these three lessons learned I have sharp criticism for both the Anti-Iraq folks and for the President.
Sharp Criticism for the Anti-Iraq crowd (very natural thing for me):
1. The majority of the anti-Iraq rhetoric is supported by myopic, zooms in on the “lies” told, the time engaged, the dollars spent, the number of soldiers killed, or the civilian losses with no effort at taking a step back and viewing the big picture with regards to historical or current on the ground perspective.
Note: For all those people who call the President stupid…but in the same breath claim to be duped by his lies…look yourself in the mirror and figure out where that leaves you?
2. What did you expect? Saddam to hand over a “Treasure” map with all of his illegal material marked with an “X”, the power void not to be filled by militias, criminals or terrorists, and American soldiers to not die in this War?
Note: I truly enjoy Star Trek, Star Wars, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but if these were your fantastic expectations of what would happen in Iraq, then I have some deals to discuss with you about real estate investment in “A Galaxy Far, Far Away”…!
3. Solve problems…do not ignore problems…they will not get better…they will only get worse…QUITTING IS NOT A SOLUTION
Note: What do you expect to happen if we leave Iraq? All Quiet on the Islamist front, invites from Al-Qaeda to their Himalayan Hideaway, Iran to stop meddling in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Israel, or is it just “Peace in our Time, Peace in our Time”
Sharp Criticism for the President (very difficult for a Texas boy & life long Texas Rangers fan):
1. The majority of the solutions discussed (at least publicly) for Iraq focus on military and political solutions inside the borders of Iraq, but Syria and Iran continue to undermine the Coalition’s efforts and kill US soldiers and Iraqi civilians. The three Carriers through the Straits of Hormuz was a step in the right direction, but take the gloves off West Texas style.
Note: Mr. President you like to surprise the troops on holidays…how about calling the BLUFF of the negotiation crowd and convene a 4th of July President’s Pow Wow in Crawford with Bashar Assad and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When it comes time to watch fireworks and as Francis Scott Key’s crescendo is peaking, draw everyone’s attention to the big screen monitor as the B-2 Bombers are lifting off in Missouri. Cordially invite the Presidents to negotiate the future of Iraq over Pecan Pie and Coffee (Decaf for those going to bed for the early morning run).
2. What did you expect? Saddam to hand over a “Treasure” map with all of his illegal material marked with an “X”, the power void not to be filled by militias, criminals or terrorists, and American soldiers to not die in this War?
Note: Mr. President hindsight is 20/20. Stick to your guns. You have a good product based on sound principles. Take the gloves off, improve your marketing plan and get this thing cleaned up so the next guy (Mitt, Rudy, McCain, Newt, Fred, Duncan or Hillary) can tackle the next front in the War on Terror.
3. The President could probably deliver the perfect speech and manage the perfect War, but in the current anti-Bush media environment he would still be attacked. With that said, the President must do better at communicating with the American people. If he doesn’t feel comfortable cutting up in front of the camera and being genuine behind the lectern, then try anything until one works.
Note: Mr. President you were entertaining in the debate format in 2004...maybe you need a Co-host or an opponent. Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Michelle Malkin would all do it in kind “With Duty (Ratings) in Mind”. Bill Maher would probably bring out the “Dubya” that my wife bragged about when she was a White House intern. Or maybe all it takes is spending a few late nights in bed watching clips of Reagan, Clinton, and Ray Nagin explain away all of their mistakes.
Harder Right vs Easier Wrong
Anti-war activists will always migrate to the nation’s capital and camp out to protest the President’s decisions during a time of war. Merv and Dennis sitting at the bar of the VFW Cantina will always believe that the only type of good Iraqi is dead Iraqis. Both quitting in Iraq and turning the desert to glass fall into the category of easier wrongs and are unacceptable.
In World War II the nation mobilized to fight and win a World War. We have yet to mobilize and do what is right to win this war. So where does that leave us? Somewhere in the middle of harder right and easier wrong is where we sit today. That will not change before this President leaves office.
General Petraeus is doing everything in his power to accomplish his mission given his left (Syria) and right (Iran) limits. Lets hope that the President decides to get downright nasty in his final 18 months. Our troops deserve that, the Iraqis deserve that, and the world deserves that.
In Iraq there is no alternative, but VICTORY!
because there's not enough public support for making Iraq a stable democracy, which is supposedly why we're still there.
I'm not fond of mass mobilization in any case, but if the war is to continue, it needs to be reframed as something that's in OUR national interest, not the Iraqis. The idea that our leaving is an encouragement to terrorists is getting old; by that standard we have to be there en masse until there's no more terrorism - which is essentially forever.
Expanding our efforts wider to the adjacent nations is a much better idea. The message we sent with our war on Afghanistan was so simple: "Help terrorists hurt us, and we will destroy you." Our disregard of Iran's known support to the Iraqi terrorists has made that position a laughingstock.
"General Petraeus is doing everything in his power to accomplish his mission given his left (Syria) and right (Iran) limits. Lets hope that the President decides to get downright nasty in his final 18 months. Our troops deserve that, the Iraqis deserve that, and the world deserves that."
Excellent close! This reflects my sentiment exactly. From the mouths of our troops to God's ear.
Jack
The World's Ruined
....teach in school today.
"Never give up! Never give up! Never,never,never give up!"
Winston Churchill. They teach nothing about Mr Churchill or the circumstances that catapulted him onto the world stage.
They profess, instead, to teach students the language of peace today, but omit any mention of Cortez or Pizarro's exploits. The Ostrich, with his head buried deeply in the sand, is a perfect analogy.
And hello from Buckley AFB.
"We have yet to mobilize and do what is right to win this war."
"the President must do better at communicating with the American people"
This is the twin problem that I believe has hurt us the most - President Bush ordered us off to war - and as best I know form my friends and relatives that serve, and my personal experience, we are winning hearts and minds, and every battle, as far as the boots on the ground go.
The problem is that the President never tied the rest of the nation in with the military - we went to war and the President told the nation to go back to Walmart.
No nation can withstand the American people and our military we we act together. Why not mobilize the nation for the last 18 months and drive things hard for victory?
Good luck bro.
And I should get a personal account - this isn't a Thompson thing, its an America thing.