There is a hidden reason why the US can not and will not stabilize Iraq. The Reason has nothing to do with the US's ability to operate effectively in a combat zone. Before explaining this colossal failure let us look at some current information on the war. The initial coalition military forces were roughly 300,000, of which 98% were U.S. and British troops. The coalitions first goal was to defeat the Iraqi military and remove Hussein from power. As everyone suspected this would be over quickly. Operation Iraqi Freedom started on March 20th and was over April 15th. In approximately 27 days Hussein's 24 year rule was over. From February 2007 to May 2007 the U.S. added about 31,000 troops,The so called "SURGE". As of July there were approximately 169,000 coalition Troops in Iraq. Of these 158,000 are U.S. Troops. So now we have a confusing civil war with an added insurgency. There is so much talk about what to do, when to do it and how to do it. We hear about benchmarks and timelines. After 5 years of insurgency and civil war there is only one reason the U.S. is bogged down with little hope of stabilizing Iraq. The reason is that The United Stated Military was not large enough to execute the rebuilding of Iraq. Why isn't the U.S. Military large enough? Because the Neo-Conservatives in Washington D.C. thought they could invade and occupy a foreign country with a PEACE TIME MILITARY! The lack of progress boils down to not enough people. Now for the kicker. The only way to achieve most of the stated goals in Iraq is to draft a larger, "War Time" military to finish the job. Not a 31,000 troop surge. The U.S. would need to draft several hundred thousand people to stabilize Iraq. Now I am definitely against a draft to clean up George Bush's mess. The point here is, if a draft is the only way to achieve our goals, and nobody will tolerate a draft, then logically the only course of action would be to bring the undermanned forces home. One of the Presidential hopefuls needs to step up to the plate and say our peace time military was not large enough to execute this war and they will not make any more progress. People need to start shouting, "You took us to war with an undermanned peace time military and you failed, end it now!". George W. Bush is literally waiting for a miracle that isn't going to happen while our friends and family die.
Brief description of careers: C64 BBS sysop, US Marine 2818 (electronics/computer tech), computer network administrator, computer networking consultant, owner operator of a commercial/residential painting business, life long Democrat.
What our goals? Did the author or anyone for that matter had GAINED anything personally, materially, financially or otherwise from the Iraqi carnage? Did anyone but Haliburton- Cheney had acquried more wealth, security, prosperity, etc. Did anyone's life become easier, happier, etc?
Nope. We have no stake in winning whatever in Iraq. We have a stake in our young to be preserved. End of the story.
by
Mark Sashine (46 articles, 19 quicklinks, 235 diaries, 3359 comments)
on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 8:50:55 AM
It is pretty clear the "war" was not meant to last as long as it has. Our peace time defensive military has morphed into a prolonged war offensive and occupational military. A long way from home. The President is really stuck. Recycling troops is unfair. The draft would be toxic. He knows this is not going to resolve for years. Abrupt withdrawal is subject to many different interpretations as to outcome, most unpleasant.
Al Qaeda is our new reason for war, our reason for staying. But al Qaeda is just one factor in a complicated, poorly defined mission. Al Qaeda specializes in chaos, not solutions. There are many competing organizations that are also contributing to the chaos, each with it's own solution to running Iraq. They are vested, al Qaeda is not. In a way, al Qaeda is the least important group in Iraq with respect to re-building the country to the point that we can leave with a handshake rather than being stoned back to Kuwait. The insurgents will not fail to try and humiliate us during an untidy withdrawal.
And then there is Israel. The Neocons expected a different outcome with their fervor for war. If we leave, we are not going back, Americans are in a sour mood. If the extremists manage to extend their influence with the taste of victory, sooner rather than later Israel will appear in their sights. With an unhappy ending in Iraq, Americans will not trust the politicians or the military to lead us into even a supportive Middle East conflict. Israel should think about making nice with her neighbors and solve the Palestinian issue.
by
Bernard (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 53 comments)
on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 12:37:34 PM
Like most Americans the author has no idea, why the nation is really in Iraq. The official story of WMD's has been replaced, by vague references to 9/11, something called "Al Qaeda". All official reasons for the U.S. presence in Iraq, are lies, pure and simple! Washington has long been the home of corrupt administrations, who do the bidding, of powerful special interests, while playing the American people for complete fools. The Iraq war is a "special interest", not an American, war! For most of the last century, Corrupt U.S. administrations, have no problem resorting to lies, just to drag the U.S. public along, as they pursue the bellicose agenda, of their special interest masters. The perennial gullibility, and political incompetence, of most Americans, allows them to get away, with this kind of stuff. There is absolutely no legitimate reason, for the U.S., or any other nation, to be in Iraq!
The assumption that the so-called neocons, didn' t know what they were doing, is absurd! They not only knew full well, what the likely outcome of their wreckless Iraq adventure would be, it's more accurate to say, that they couldn't care less, about those, they sent into this quagmire, or the nation, they so wantonly attacked. The way they wickedly deployed the U.S. military to Iraq, the way they treat wounded U.S. veterans, and Iraqi civilians, clearly bears this out! Americans have been so exquisitely brainwashed, they mindlessly accept needless wars and government unaccountability. They have no conception of the great game, being played, at their expense. Iraq is clearly not an issue of "going to war, with a peace time military"! It's a case, of certain powerful special interests, using the U.S. military, as their own personal fighting force. It's further a case, of the gullibility of U.S. citizens, and the corruption of U.S. politicians.
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Rasoul Acheh (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 122 comments)
on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 4:13:34 PM
-the author has no idea, why the nation is really in Iraq
A million words could be spent here on different aspects of the war. The point here was to focus on one point. The fact that a peace time military was used to occupy a foreign nation.
by
Haxx (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 13 comments)
on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 7:00:33 PM
