Pentagon Review Sees Three Options in Iraq (1 Viewer)

[jujuman13]

Link

Pentagon Review Sees Three Options in Iraq - washingtonpost.com

And now even those die hard Neo-Republicans can quite cleaarly see that were the US to even contemplate invading any other nation, the probable results would be much much worse than what is happening in Iraq.

In effect this means that the US has been humiliated by a bunch of rag-heads, very similar to the humiliation of being defeated by a bunch of ( I believe they were called) slope heads in Vietnam.
Surely this time the US MIGHT learn that the days of a set piece war situation is outdated by at least 30 years.
The US consequently needs Military that has as it's leaders people that can deal with warfare in a different manner.

A much greater emphasis will of a necessity be required of the (so called) intelligence services.

 

[Gibberish]

The war in Iraq was greatly under estimated by those in charge. We should have gone big to start with when we had the eliminate of surprise and control.

Bush's admin half-a$$d this whole war thinking it would all naturally happen and there would be no rebellion or fighting. It is their lame war policy that created the anarchy that is in Iraq today.

Either fully commit or get out and IMO it might be to late to full commit, we lost the strategic advantages we had three years ago.

 

[Calm2Chaos]

We are not willing to fight a war today the way it needs to be fought to win. We are more concerned about the rights of the enemy, how we are being percieved by the enemy, european nations that are on the sidelines and the normal antiwar crowd. We are trying to fight a PC guerilla war with conventional warfare tactics. Against a opponent that has no problem breaking the rules that are set forth, and we try to uphold. It's like taking a knife to a gun fight. Sooner or later I hope they realize this, but it hasn't happened so far.

 

[wonder cow]

wonder cow's plan for Iraq:

Gentlemen, I give you the Iraq Confederacy.

3 Independent states tied together by a confederacy, with stronger local control and a weaker central government

1 in the North, predominantly Kurds

1 in the central part of Iraq, predominantly Sunni

1 in the southern portion, predominantly Shea

President, Legislature, and system of courts in each

Pours borders between the three regions

A National Parliament similar to Great Britain with a Prime Minister,
but power much more limited.

A supreme court with jurisdiction only over constitutional matters

Baghdad as Capitol but independent District similar to DC

One common national militia

One currency

Oil revenue split in thirds, then skewed in acceptable manner to better represent the population of the region

 

[Around Midnight]

The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon has outlined three options and “insiders” have applied three slogans to these options: "Go Big," "Go Long" and "Go Home:"

“The Pentagon's closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense officials.

“Insiders have dubbed the options "Go Big," "Go Long" and "Go Home." The group conducting the review is likely to recommend a combination of a small, short-term increase in U.S. troops and a long-term commitment to stepped-up training and advising of Iraqi forces, the officials said.”

The use of diminutive slogans in terms of the Iraq strategy eerily calls to mind General Maxwell Taylor’s analysis of 1967 Vietnam in his book “Swords and Ploughshares” (p. 380). Only he offered up four slogans instead of three:

“I contended that there always had been and still were only four alternatives (in 1967 Vietnam), although each had several variants. The basic four in simplest terms were: 'all out,''pull-out,' 'pull back,' or 'stick-it-out.'"

“'All out' was the solution of the extreme hawks who would increase the military pressure…. (T)he all out partisans also favored a declaration of war and the imposition of wartime controls at home.

“'Pull-out' meant just what it said, to withdraw our forces… just as rapidly as we could safely do so.

“'Pull back' was the de-escalation alternative which usually included… a reduction of offensive ground operations and some abandonment of forward terrain, which could go as far as the withdrawal of our forces into defensive enclaves along the cost.

“'Stick-it-out' was the status quo alternative which amounted to continuing the current strategy…”

Interestingly (in his book) Taylor identified four basic slogan alternatives for America's North Vietnamese enemies:

“Just as our side had four basic alternatives, so did Hanoi: 'escalate,' 'play-dead,' 'protract' and 'negotiate…,'

“Their 'escalation' could take the form of increased infiltration, renewed cross-border offensives, the introduction of new and better weapons, the use of foreign (fighters) and possible the opening of a new front…

“The 'play-dead' alternative was the fade-away option…, giving the impression that the war was ending or, at least subsiding.

“'Protract' corresponded to our stick-it-out and implied a continuation of the (their current) strategy…

“'Negotiate' alternative was to resort to the negotiation table as a new sector of conflict and maneuver…"

General Taylor (as Presidential Consultant) recommended to LBJ that America should stick-it-out and that the president should make every effort to stiffen the backbone of the home front. General Taylor even offered to the then President (LBJ) what his advice would be if he was advising his 1967 communist enemies. It is disturbing to consider it’s relevance to the situation in Iraq today. General Taylor wrote in his book (p. 380):

“I even ventured (to the president)… what I would recommend to (our enemies) if I were one of (their) advisers. My advice to (them) would be to also stay on his present course of military, terrorist and political action, in spite of the (military) disappointments of (the past)…"

As we know now, Taylor and the administration misjudged their enemy and got it terribly wrong. In fact the enemy would have rejected Taylor’s gratuitous advice to maintain the status quo, as General Taylor writes (p. 380):

“(The enemy’s) choice (instead of "stay the course") was for all-out escalation in 1968…”

Of course there are many who still remember what "all out escalation" meant: The Tet Offensive of 1968.

(Sunday School For Sinners)

 

[hipsterdufus]

wonder cow's plan for Iraq:

Gentlemen, I give you the Iraq Confederacy.

3 Independent states tied together by a confederacy, with stronger local control and a weaker central government

1 in the North, predominantly Kurds

1 in the central part of Iraq, predominantly Sunni

1 in the southern portion, predominantly Shea

President, Legislature, and system of courts in each

Pours borders between the three regions

A National Parliament similar to Great Britain with a Prime Minister,
but power much more limited.

A supreme court with jurisdiction only over constitutional matters

Baghdad as Capitol but independent District similar to DC

One common national militia

One currency

Oil revenue split in thirds, then skewed in acceptable manner to better represent the population of the region

That's the Biden plan right?

 

[Hatuey]

Splitting Iraq wouldnt work. It wouldnt stop the violence. Maybe a little. But not significantly. Iraq would be like N and S Korea. People waiting at their borders for the smallest spark.

 

[ShamMol]

Splitting Iraq wouldnt work. It wouldnt stop the violence. Maybe a little. But not significantly. Iraq would be like N and S Korea. People waiting at their borders for the smallest spark.

You are completely right. The only option is to stay there, but even if we do 120 people die each and every day. So it is a battle between the right option, staying there, and the option that would prevent probably the most death, getting the hey out of there. The right option is to send in more troops, which we do not necessarily have. But there really isn't any political will for that, so the only remaining option is to get out now.

 

[wonder cow]

That's the Biden plan right?

Is it?

I made it up. Biden is a copycat.