In the clip below from that post, it is obvious the troops get it.
AQ is a starfish organization, much like AA. You could kill every AA (cell) meeting attendee in America and not eliminate AA. So it is with AQ.
In his counterinsurgency manual Petraeus himself admits such when he wrote, "Military actions by themselves cannot achieve success in counterinsurgency."
COIN requires military objectives to be linked to the host nation's essential political goals. I think I know our objectives for Iraq. I know I don't know Iraq's political objectives for themselves. I wonder who does.
I remind that the only terrorist orgs that have ever been put completely out of business had every member killed or incarcerated. If that is our intent, our generals need to get on with it for we have 150 million more to kill.
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"Al-Qaeda is on its back foot," said Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. "They have largely lost Anbar province."
‘Dead meat’
But U.S. officers in Ramadi say it is only a matter of time before al-Qaeda in Iraq strikes again.
"We're still expecting attacks similar to this one," said Maj. Andrew Wortham, the 1st Brigade Combat Team's intelligence officer in Ramadi.
Soldiers who fought in the battle say they feel extremely lucky to have happened upon the insurgents -- and to have survived. They're concerned that if U.S. forces leave, the insurgents will return and easily kill local police and officials. "I worry about pulling out of this area early. If we do, these guys are dead meat," Lauer said.
Spannagel, the scout leader, said the fighting revealed "a false sense of security that we'd won the battle in Ramadi."
In fact, he said, "this shows the enemy is patient. This is his land. He's got all the time in the world. . . . They're going to continue to fight in Anbar." |
