A Former Marine's Perspective on the War

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Nice post. Two quick hits. First, I don't know your friend and I haven't been to Iraq, but I don't believe for a second that we are intentionally letting the insurgency fester for the sake of handing out government contracts. Skepticism of government is good and healthy, paranoid conspiracy theories are not. As for private contractors, yes they are very highly paid. But what people don't realize is (a) the contractors are usually former members of the SEALs, Delta, and Special Forces and (b) the contractors actually save the government money. With respect to the second point, soldiers' salaries comprise a wee part of the cost of fielding an army.

As for the war in general, I was opposed to it regardless of whether SH had WMDs. SH kept the radicals in check, albeit brutally, and I didn't think he threatened the U.S. But, I am equally opposed to withdrawing the troops prematurely. Even if we have a long way to go before we can declare "victory," things are looking better. People used to chuckle when generals said the surge was working and/or accuse them of lying. Now, just about everyone in Congress (save a few reps in the House) agrees that the surge is working and we are making progress. General Petraeus' "clear, hold and build" strategy appears to be working.

With respect to the first point, I'll agree I'm not totally convinced myself. I do find it very odd, however, that we can completely conquer and dominate (in every facet) a country in a matter of a few weeks during the invasion, yet somehow we're at a loss as to how to handle a "pesky" insurgency? Strikes me as a little odd at the very least. I don't think he was really suggesting a conspiracy really, just that the regular military (not the reserves or guard) was not being allowed to do it's job. It's like they got 95% of the way there, and left before the job was finished.

With respect to private contractors, I agree they do save money overall and definitely serve their purpose. I think Doug was a bit too bitter simply cause they were well paid and equipped and he wasn't, though if I were in his shoes I'd probably feel the same.

Blackwater and Dyncorp being comprised of largely ex-special forces is actually a bit of a misconception. Doug said that, by and large, the contractors he ran into were guys who probably wouldn't cut it in the regular military and wanted to play Rambo. He said he did run into a few true professionals who were ex-special forces, but they were few and far between.

Doug's overall viewpoint seemed to be that if we WERE going to go in, we needed to go in and do the job right, which he feels is not what's being done right now. He thinks they're basically "half-assing it." As to why that may be, who knows.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by mheisig

With respect to the first point, I'll agree I'm not totally convinced myself. I do find it very odd, however, that we can completely conquer and dominate (in every facet) a country in a matter of a few weeks during the invasion, yet somehow we're at a loss as to how to handle a "pesky" insurgency? Strikes me as a little odd at the very least. I don't think he was really suggesting a conspiracy really, just that the regular military (not the reserves or guard) was not being allowed to do it's job. It's like they got 95% of the way there, and left before the job was finished.

Our military can kick the crap out of any regular army. Fighting insurgencies is a tricky matter, just ask the French, British, etc. I have no doubt we could wipe out the insurgency overnight if we wanted to, but I don't think we could do so without compromising our values. We could do what Saddam did and simply wipe out entire cities/villages sympathetic to the insurgency, but it's not going to happen.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Our military can kick the crap out of any regular army. Fighting insurgencies is a tricky matter, just ask the French, British, etc. I have no doubt we could wipe out the insurgency overnight if we wanted to, but I don't think we could do so without compromising our values. We could do what Saddam did and simply wipe out entire cities/villages sympathetic to the insurgency, but it's not going to happen.

You're right. We failed in Vietnam for that reason, the Soviets failed in Afghanistan for that reason, and the outlook is bleak in Iraq for that reason (among others). Guerrilla tactics negate the advantage of a large fighting force like our military.