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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (192028)	1/7/2007 7:55:41 PM
From: Ichy Smith	Respond to of 793912

Israel cannot admit to planning to nuke Iran, or iran has no way to back down. Iran has to maintain it's face of courage ab=nd honor, because like most muslim nations it has nothing else to offer the world. Iran needs to be very careful. Israel is not going to go quietly into history. It will take Islam with it. In the meantime unlike Hussein who claimed weapons he did not have israel is simply disavowing a threat in order to give Iran a chance to take a deep breath, and to think about exactly what this move could cost. They may also be giving the French and the russians a chance to consider what happens if the Middle East is a black sparkling nuclear wasteland.

To: KLP who wrote (192028)	1/8/2007 4:29:20 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793912

This lady's (Melanie Phillips) problem comprehension is outstanding. She explains the problem and the military solution as well as anyone. And she is British to boot. "It has also long been clear that Iraq is merely a front in wider regional - and indeed, global - war. Iran declared war on the west in 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini announced his intention of conquering the west for Islam. The response of the west has been to ignore the fact that war was thus declared upon it, as was demonstrated by attacks upon it ever since by Iran - along with the Sunni/Wahhabi Islamists, who were both its deadly theological rivals for regional hegemony and at the same time its allies in the war against the free world. Ahmadinejad is the true heir to Khomeini; and is it any wonder that he feels able to cock a snook at the west on the assumption that it is toothless and will not prevent him from acquiring nuclear weapons, when for more than two decades the west refused to defend itself against Iranian aggression – and even now, when Iran is fighting the west through proxies in Iraq, it is still flinching from taking the fight to the enemy? The problem has been, however, that the American generals have been resistant to such a strategic analysis. They have refused both to extend the war in Iraq to Iran and to reconceive their tactics away from the use of conventional to unconventional forces. " The strategic reversal hinted at in the last sentence here is the key that will accomplish two things in my opinion. 1. It is our best hope for victory. 2. It will enable an immediate reduction of conventional US Forces fighting in Iraq. Much more at the link. melaniephillips.com Unfortunately, Petraeus is probably the least likely General to ever come to this view. His oft stated belief that any military unit can conduct unconventional warfare makes me think he the is most likely to continue to use similar conventional tactics as the Soviet generals defeated in Afghanistan after nine years of futile efforts. Hanson wrote about Petraeus a few days ago, "Why would the President think that Petraeus would do anything differently than Casey? Perhaps he and his advisors have been bamboozled with grand tales of Petraeus' pacification efforts in Mosul when he was commander of the 101st Airborne Division. This and the other "engagement" effort in Fallujah by the US Marines are so steeped in myth and legend that normally reasoned military commentators such as Ralph Peters blindly promote these events as brilliantly executed plans on the cutting edge of counter-insurgency theory. In reality, the Mosul experiment was an exercise in bartering with the enemy. Placing stability over the requirement to hunt down the remnants of Iraq's Army, Petraeus placed Saddam - era General and former high - level Baathist, Mahmud Muhammad al - Maris, in charge of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps [ICDC] units guarding the border in the vicinity of Mosul. Later, the security situation in Mosul had deteriorated so badly that major combat operations were undertaken at the end of 2004 to restore order in the rebellious city. The Fallujah experiment was just as disastrous." Petraeus has terrific conventional warfare skills, but he is not trained in unconventional warfare. He has no appreciation for how A Teams work within civilian populations to enable self defense and create legitimate opportunities for indigenous populations. If we are to maintain or increase US Forces, we will be much better off in a role reversal. Put the conventional forces in positions along the borders to stop the foreign support of the insurgency and bring the A teams back to the population centers to accomplish what they are really good at. One thing is certain. If we keep doing what we are doing, we are going to keep getting what we are getting. If we don't like what we are getting, we must change what we are doing. Paul Vellely wrote, "In January 2003, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld designated the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) as the lead military organization to prosecute the global war on terror but unfortunately that has not materialized. Although stellar Army commanding Gens. John Abizaid (retiring early next year) and George Casey continue to lead Middle East war operations and troops in Iraq respectively, they are products of the traditional warfare school. Moreover, nearly all of the 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are, too. It’s time to alter U.S. strategy by putting USSOCOM generals and admirals truly in command of the global war." Paul has it right. It is time to turn this unconventional war over to our unconventional warfare experts. Perhaps we will find that wisdom in the phase after this. uw