Stalemate
03/12/07 09:25
It's amazing to me that our nation's leaders have
been having the same argument for two years. Most of
the Dems and a few rational Repubs have recognized
the fact that Iraq is never going to be
fully under our control, and it is therefore
time to start working on the inevitable exit
strategy. But dubya gives them the squinty-eyed tough
guy act and says, "Nope, cain't do it. See, setting
up a timetable just invites your enemy to wait you
out. That's not the way to victory in the War on
Terra. And if 9/11 taught us anything, ... terra,
9/11, war on terra, 9/11, 9/11, victory for Amurka.
Oh, and 9/11." How long can he continue to stonewall
with stupid?
The preznit says we only lose if we leave, but absolutely refuses to understand that the basic premise of guerilla warfare is waiting out the occupying force. It's always been that way. Whether you call them guerillas, rebels, insurgents, freedom fighters or militias, the thing they all have in common is they actually live in the area of conflict. Short of genocide, they cannot be defeated because they are never leaving. The occupying force is in reality left with two choices; permanent occupation or loss. When you leave you lose. That's why guerilla warfare is so effective.
In Iraq they are already waiting us out. The Mahdi militia was ordered to stand down before The Surge ever started. I heard the mayor of Sadr city say so himself. So they will all put their weapons away and play all meek and mild and contained for a few months, maybe long enough for dubya to have another little "mission accomplished" moment. Then, when we leave, they can get back to drilling holes in Sunni heads.
What gets me is that a lot of the dinosaurs in this administration were also part of our government when Russia was making the same mistake in Afghanistan. Our CIA even contributed substantially to Russia's humbling failure by using Saudi funds to build and train the insurgency in Pakistan. And yet now this administration seems to have been caught completely by surprise when the same tactics were used against our own empire-building. They use shock and outrage to cover their own incompetence and lack of planning. Did they really just assume that it couldn't happen to the US 'cause we're the good guys? Occupiers wearing white hats are still occupiers.
The preznit says we only lose if we leave, but absolutely refuses to understand that the basic premise of guerilla warfare is waiting out the occupying force. It's always been that way. Whether you call them guerillas, rebels, insurgents, freedom fighters or militias, the thing they all have in common is they actually live in the area of conflict. Short of genocide, they cannot be defeated because they are never leaving. The occupying force is in reality left with two choices; permanent occupation or loss. When you leave you lose. That's why guerilla warfare is so effective.
In Iraq they are already waiting us out. The Mahdi militia was ordered to stand down before The Surge ever started. I heard the mayor of Sadr city say so himself. So they will all put their weapons away and play all meek and mild and contained for a few months, maybe long enough for dubya to have another little "mission accomplished" moment. Then, when we leave, they can get back to drilling holes in Sunni heads.
What gets me is that a lot of the dinosaurs in this administration were also part of our government when Russia was making the same mistake in Afghanistan. Our CIA even contributed substantially to Russia's humbling failure by using Saudi funds to build and train the insurgency in Pakistan. And yet now this administration seems to have been caught completely by surprise when the same tactics were used against our own empire-building. They use shock and outrage to cover their own incompetence and lack of planning. Did they really just assume that it couldn't happen to the US 'cause we're the good guys? Occupiers wearing white hats are still occupiers.
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