An interesting article that closely mirrors my view on Iraq being a distraction. I know that it’s something of a heresy in the progressive company that I keep…but I was pro- Afghanistan. In any event, it’s worth a read.
LIEUT. GENERAL GREG NEWBOLD (RET.)
“I’ve been silent long enough… What we are living with now is the consequences of successive policy failures. Some of the missteps include: the distortion of intelligence in the buildup to the war, McNamara-like micromanagement that kept our forces from having enough resources to do the job, the failure to retain and reconstitute the Iraqi military in time to help quell civil disorder, the initial denial that an insurgency was the heart of the opposition to occupation, alienation of allies who could have helped in a more robust way to rebuild Iraq, and the continuing failure of the other agencies of our government to commit assets to the same degree as the Defense Department. My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions—or bury the results.”
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1181587,00.html)
It’s sort of clear what should not have been done. Any input on what should have been done after 9-11, or some analysis of what should be done now, please?
My Iraq story is pretty blunt. We can’t leave immediately (too large a power vacuum). Make it clear to the Iraqis that a significant drawdown is going to happen.
Set a timeframe… One year seems to be popular.
Make it clear to the international community that the US will consider being a part of an international security force, but that we won’t be providing the lions share of the troops.
Shift a very large chunk of our WOT spending to human intel investment.
I hope to have a longer piece on how the US should exit Iraq & address the question of terrorism…but it aint done yet.
Never-the-less. I think these kinds of statements are important in that they degrade the republican advantage on foreign policy & security issues in the minds of the american public.
It will take me a while to think of what should have been done after 9-11.
I did just realize while reading the Iran article the chief U. S. advantage AQ has negated, airpower. To build, maintain and continually domnate the skies takes economic superiority that few nations can match. But as we all have come to know, bombing everywhere to find the the needle in the haystack is both inefficient and unpopular. Their tactics may prove to be an advantage difficult to overcome.