Comments on: McCain “Sick At Heart” Over Mistakes In Iraq War

By: KBoomr113

KBoomr113 — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:40:04 +0000

I’m sad we didn’t follow counterinsurgency before there was an insurgency also. we would have avoided a lot of the unnecessary fighting with the locals and could have focused on the real enemy -Al Qaeda and the followers of Saddam who refused to yield - years ago…..lots of soldiers and marines died because we didn’t listen to the SOF guys that knew had to fight and win COIN ops.

By: bill-tb

bill-tb — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:51:53 +0000

Why should the America’s enemies have yielded when the likes of Harry Ried were egging them on? How many American soldiers and Iraqis died because of the drive-by media cheering the terrorists on … and the Democrats pulling for America to lose?

Mistakes are always made in war, I doubt McANMESTY could do any better. It makes me sick in the heart the way people criticize the President.

Who would have guessed there would have been no more terror strikes on the homeland on 9/12/01 ?

By: tanicacid

tanicacid — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:57:40 +0000

KBoom,

It aint like the top military advisers didn’t tell Rummy and the rest about counterinsurgency needs…and got “retired” for doing so. Gen. Shinseki for one.

By: deathstar

deathstar — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:28:57 +0000

“Gen. Shinseki for one.”

Shinseki is a boob who thought it would take 600,000 troops to liberate Iraq (even at the height of the surge we got no where near that number). He was an old school General who wanted millions of men and thousands of tanks to fight soviet fornmations on the plains of europe, he didnt seem to have a clue about COIN and the new strategies needed for thr long war. He is deadwood like Gen. Sanchez and Gen Batiste who are better off in retirement.

Any way, glab to see McCain calling the dem aseholes to the floor for trying to suck al-Qaida and Irans nuts.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:29:56 +0000

Anyone here like Rummy? Let’s attack Iraq. But lets do it at less than half strength. Moreover lets overextend our supply convoys so that they’re easy targets. GREAT Idea. Oh and lets not launch an effective campaign against insurgents. That’s how we’re going to win this war./sarcasm.

It’s sad that it took so long in order for us to correct our mistakes. Fucking politics and Beauracracy should NOT get in the way of fighting a war. Hell in the beginning of the war we basically set ourselves up for failure. We could have and should have done/known better. But no. Words can’t describe it. Our soldiers died because of mistakes that shouldn’t have been made. You can say that there’s always mistakes, but that doesn’t change what happens or why they happened.
/end rant

By: cclezel

cclezel — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:40:29 +0000

I am more sick over the behavior of our own citizens towards the men and women fighting this war. I have no doubts had our own people gotten completely behind this war effort we would not have seen the prolonging of the inevitable. Setbacks and mistakes are commonplace in war. It’s what you do when you realize your mistake.

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
- General George Patton Jr

By: OldflyerBob

OldflyerBob — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:44:02 +0000

As Patton might have said . . .”Love the 20/20 hindsight you magnificent little maverick bastard”.

Only a couple of the books have been written. Let’s wait for a few more before we get on any bandwagons. Personally, I strongly suspect the hands of Powell and Armitage in the pot when the soup went noxious.

BTW, give me a reference where Shinseki advocated more counter-insurgency.

By: deathstar

deathstar — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:10:27 +0000

[[Moreover lets overextend our supply convoys so that they’re easy targets. GREAT Idea. ]]

Shinseki:

Lets send in 400,000 un-needed troops so the supply convoys have to be huge. GREAT idea.

By: Zolkowski

Zolkowski — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:36:37 +0000

Suddenly we’re all strategists in here. Leave it to the people who know what they’re doing, to at least some extent.

By: Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:32:13 +0000

Per capita troop levels that were required for the occupations of Germany and Japan should have been good initial guesses of the troop levels required for the occupation of Iraq - and I think that’s where Shinseki got his number. Also, not letting the friggin’ lawyers run the show would have helped. GW should have added two or three divisions or more to the Army right after 9/11 when he had the opportunity. In spite of this, I think Iraq will look like a cheap preview one day compared to what we will ultimately face.