The Wrong Conversation
The 800 pound gorilla sitting in the room is Iraq. I know. As I write this, I am 120 days into my third tour. I've been here from the beginning, spent all of 2004 over here, and now am riding out the last six months of 2005 over here. After 22 months, I feel that I have a pretty good grasp on what I am about to talk about. Anyone who feels otherwise, feel free to make a rational rebuttal.
The American people, the federal legislature, and the world are asking the wrong questions. Or to be more exact, making wrong statements. "Bush lied. We were misled. The war is unjust." Now hang on a minute before you start accusing me of being a part of the vast right wing conspiracy. The fact is that I AM a part of the vast right wing conspiracy, but just hear me out. There is an appropriate time and place for all of these accusations to come out. And that time is the day after we have achieved complete and total victory in Iraq.
It would warm my heart if I read the news everyday and there were arguements among lawmakers about how to more effectively and quickly prosecute the insurgency here in Iraq. There are no new ideas, only stale rhetoric. Or worse yet, a defeatist attitude that calls for a submission to the people trying TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW. I have neither the time nor the patience to converse with such people. They do not know anything about military thinking or decision making. Let me break it down for you.
Contrary to popular opinion of the last, say, four decades, the American military encourages detailed planning as well as the ability to quickly adapt to a change in plans. Planning creates a framework that allows for quick decision making when opportunites present themselves. We cultivate that mind set in order to exploit enemy weakness and to achieve endstates in the most efficient manner. The underlying principle to this planning and quick reaction to opportunities is that once forces are committed, there is not stopping until victory. Ah, but what if something goes wrong? Easy. That is what the commander is there for. He places himself at the point of greatest friction and is there to bring the full authortiy and resources of his office to make sure the objective is achieved. He may have to withdraw. He may find a better route. But what he does not do is say "My boss is completely ate up, his reasons for sending me here are flawed, and I'm getting the hell out of here before something worse happens." We plan for when things go bad. That is why a commander has a staff. They are there to point out options to him in case a plan doesn't go well. They are singularly focused on completing the mission. Once it is done they can sit around and do a hot wash to review the plan, but you can't do an after action report if you are all dead.
And that brings me back to my original point. The American people and the law makers are having the wrong arguements. There is no underlying theme of "Let's win this thing and then we can go back to see what was wrong." People are so tied into the casualties that they think that complaining about the dead and wounded is going to help. Politicians are populists, so they parrot what the people say. This defeatist attitude only erodes support for the mission. Lack of support for the mission means lack of support for the troops, no matter how many "Support Our Troops" signs you see. This breeds an attitude of providing minimal support because YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL BRING THEM HOME IF WE DON'T WANT THEM THERE AND DON'T WANT TO SEND ANY MORE MEN AND MONEY. This is the exact right way to go about losing a war. The conversation that should be happening right now is how to apply the full weight of the United States of America to assure victory in Iraq. Think how refreshing that would be. Think of the global implications. THINK OF THE EFFECT ON THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MAN. I know my morale would soar if I saw the senate pass a resolution that they would mobilize the country to win the peace in Iraq. Hell, I'd sign up for another hitch if they passed something like that to completely wipe out Islamofascism in the Middle East. You can draw your own conclusions as to what that means...
The American people, the federal legislature, and the world are asking the wrong questions. Or to be more exact, making wrong statements. "Bush lied. We were misled. The war is unjust." Now hang on a minute before you start accusing me of being a part of the vast right wing conspiracy. The fact is that I AM a part of the vast right wing conspiracy, but just hear me out. There is an appropriate time and place for all of these accusations to come out. And that time is the day after we have achieved complete and total victory in Iraq.
It would warm my heart if I read the news everyday and there were arguements among lawmakers about how to more effectively and quickly prosecute the insurgency here in Iraq. There are no new ideas, only stale rhetoric. Or worse yet, a defeatist attitude that calls for a submission to the people trying TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW. I have neither the time nor the patience to converse with such people. They do not know anything about military thinking or decision making. Let me break it down for you.
Contrary to popular opinion of the last, say, four decades, the American military encourages detailed planning as well as the ability to quickly adapt to a change in plans. Planning creates a framework that allows for quick decision making when opportunites present themselves. We cultivate that mind set in order to exploit enemy weakness and to achieve endstates in the most efficient manner. The underlying principle to this planning and quick reaction to opportunities is that once forces are committed, there is not stopping until victory. Ah, but what if something goes wrong? Easy. That is what the commander is there for. He places himself at the point of greatest friction and is there to bring the full authortiy and resources of his office to make sure the objective is achieved. He may have to withdraw. He may find a better route. But what he does not do is say "My boss is completely ate up, his reasons for sending me here are flawed, and I'm getting the hell out of here before something worse happens." We plan for when things go bad. That is why a commander has a staff. They are there to point out options to him in case a plan doesn't go well. They are singularly focused on completing the mission. Once it is done they can sit around and do a hot wash to review the plan, but you can't do an after action report if you are all dead.
And that brings me back to my original point. The American people and the law makers are having the wrong arguements. There is no underlying theme of "Let's win this thing and then we can go back to see what was wrong." People are so tied into the casualties that they think that complaining about the dead and wounded is going to help. Politicians are populists, so they parrot what the people say. This defeatist attitude only erodes support for the mission. Lack of support for the mission means lack of support for the troops, no matter how many "Support Our Troops" signs you see. This breeds an attitude of providing minimal support because YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL BRING THEM HOME IF WE DON'T WANT THEM THERE AND DON'T WANT TO SEND ANY MORE MEN AND MONEY. This is the exact right way to go about losing a war. The conversation that should be happening right now is how to apply the full weight of the United States of America to assure victory in Iraq. Think how refreshing that would be. Think of the global implications. THINK OF THE EFFECT ON THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MAN. I know my morale would soar if I saw the senate pass a resolution that they would mobilize the country to win the peace in Iraq. Hell, I'd sign up for another hitch if they passed something like that to completely wipe out Islamofascism in the Middle East. You can draw your own conclusions as to what that means...
posted by BigCountry | 2:55 AM
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