Letters to the Editor
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Glenn
Is that what you "believe"? Do you have any basis for believing that? Did you listen to his AEI presentation?
Yes, that is what I believe, even though I did not listen to the AEI presentation.
The basis I use for believing it is that the civil war was previously described as a Shia/Sunni conflict. Some Shiites blow up a Sunni mosque, so some Sunnis go blow up a Shiite mosque.
However, Basra is predominantly Shiite (check out any map of the distribution of Muslims in Iraq, like the one linked in my sig). The Shia are fighting other Shia. This is quite a different situation compared to the previous violence.
We all know everything bad in the world is Iran's fault. Did the supreme Iraq expert Fred Kagan anticipate that this would happen?
Hey there, no need to get defensive. I'm as skeptical of Iran being behind this as you are (hence the use of the word "allegedly").
I'm not defending Kagan; I already said that. But it is a weakness in your argument if he was describing a civil war separate from the one that you use as a justification for him being wrong.
It still doesn't change the fact that he's completely out of tune with the reality of what's going on over there.
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Apologies To Derbig Mooser
I said I'm sorry!!!
You made several good points.
No one will be able to extricate us from Iraq, painlessly. Like Viet Nam, perhaps only an ugly retreat is possible.
If so, the party in power when it happens will eventually pay the price for doing the right thing.
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@RMP
You totally avoided answering my question, and in a context which presumes the good will and competence of all involved with the war. Are you sure you are retired? You handled that just like a good Civil Affairs Officer.
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re: Were you ever in the military?
It is not what you seem to believe it is. They are a cross section of Americana as diverse as any. But they are united in their dedication to the military. Not the US of A, though they may think so. Too much of their training is aimed at instilling the esprit de corps require of any fighting force to break down for partisan reasons.
And if you are suggesting that racism so rampant in the forces that a Black president would incite mass desertions, you must know something about the troops that I never knew.
I fully expect Obama to either lose in the election or be assassinated afterward. But not by the people in uniform.
Perhaps by people who believe that there is actually something inherently less about black people. You know...a Republican.
-- DemoChristian
Obama will win in a landslide, you heard it here. He may be assassinated, but I predict CIA, and not because he is mixed race, but because he is not as reliably pro-war/pro-military as the establishment likes.
I agree on the military. Most of my family are military and we have mixed marriages and children of every shade of color and from every Continent. Plus, I just never heard a racist remark. Even when they are dead, stinking, rolling in the floor drunk.
I also agree that every military man I ever knew personally was dedicated to his branch of service and to his small unit; until retirement and then the perspective seems to change some.
This is a small group though, only about 40 people; and anecdotal.
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derbig
you keep saying things like: "but next January they'll be ready to lay down their lives for him?" But honestly, man, in all my time in the Army I never met anyone who thought they were fighting for the president or really gave a damn about him. Even poor white southerners (wait: I was a poor white southerner. How about that? Just realized I used to fit your category when I rist joined up. hehe).
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You can Digg this ..
here:
http://digg.com/politics/Fred_Kagan_on_Monday_The_civil_war_in_Iraq_is_over
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And truly
the Army was the least racist place I have ever worked in.
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proximity warning
At the end of the day, it's just a talking point for you; useful if you can get it in, but you don't really follow through on its implications
Following through on an implication of your comment, let me ask you a question. Do you think it is important for elected officials to have served in the military?
We seem to place so much value on military service in our public officials, but that has never really made sense to me.
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Silash
I doesn't seem like your point and that of Glenn are mutually exclusive. If Kagan does want to be considered an eminent authority on this conflict, he should understand that the upheaval there is not strictly contingent on ethnic tensions. That is one 'civil war', to put things incredibly simply. One aspect overlooked by US media, for the most part, is that the government has no credibility and is considered a tool of the occupation. It makes sense that tension will erupt into violence at that flash-point too whenever the conditions are favorable. What you are seeing in Iraq is what usually happens to colonial-construct countries that are suddenly jolted out of strong-man rule. The fissures erupt on various lines, all contiguous, it is a horrible mess, and it lasts until so many people have died as to render the factions exhausted and meaningless (at least for a generation). The point that Kagan can pronounce the 'civil war' over, because violence declined slightly for a few months, is the lamest thing imagineable for someone claiming to be an expert.
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I love the self-delusional brothers-in-arms phrases these guys throw around
I can see them in 20 years sitting around on over-sized wing-back leather chairs, sipping single malt and saying things like, "Those were the days, eh old chap, when we looked the beast in the eye and refused to back down."
And of course they're Lombardis because they're not simply war cheerleaders, they're war coaches. They're an integral part of the tough slog, the fighting ahead. It's time that people realized the difference between a war cheerleader and a war coach. These guys have the Lombardi perseverance. They're unflinching, they're rocks, they're indefatigable sources of strength who inspire others to give 110% and perhaps even win one for the gipper!