Hi epsteinbd; Re: "Let's be fair: The Iraki West army shot two honest missiles: Honor is saved, now conditions can be discusses for the peace of the braves. For the Iraki army South, it's a bit more complicated. They have to hold to positions for at least six hours. The Iraki army North ? No one knows. May be they went home. Smart guys."
This does remind one of the guns of August, 1914. All those pretty boys marching off to a war that was going to be over by Christmas. History shows that they were idiots.
The problem with history is that if one does not understand it, one is doomed to repeat it. This would be a rather idle threat if one could not have a clue as to which piece of history one might be doomed to repeat.
To understand military affairs requires an understanding of war and human psychology. This is something that has been going on continuously for 5000 years. There's plenty of history out there available to read.
Unfortunately, the conservatives were unable to read military history except for a few rather minor battles (i.e. the Mayaguez, Panama, Haiti, Kosovo and Afghanistan). Their inability to understand the more rich history of this planet has led them to a situation that will forever tar the Republican party with a reputation for incompetence in diplomatic and military affairs.
It's not just that Bush has taken big chunks out of our relations with our allies, and single handedly turned the United Nations against us. It's that he will eventually have to admit, that like the Israelis in Lebanon, we cannot accept the casualties associated with an occupation of Iraq.
We will then be forced to retreat with our tails between our legs.
That our military, which is so effective against enemy military forces, is ineffective at controlling civilian populations is a fact that is already well known in the US military. Unfortunately, the people running the country are unaware of this little detail.
And so, by proving to the world that we are ineffective at actually occupying them, they have given rogue regimes another way of resisting us, at least in extremis.
-- Carl |
