F*ck the Moral High Ground...

[digitaldiscipline]

.... doesn't work in Iraq, and it doesn't work in anywhere else. When you're engaging an adversary, putting yourself at a chivalrous disadvantage to please the court of public opinion makes you less effective on the ground, where effectiveness is the only metric that matters.

Fighting "dirty," using whatever means available and necessary, is what succeeds most efficiently.  Gentlemanly fisticuffs will always end up a bloody heap when confronted by UFC brawling, writ whatever size, on whatever field.

Comments

[kungfugimp.livejournal.com]

Have you been listening in on my lunchtime conversations?


I often find that when expressing this opinion, I'm made out to be some sort of monster.

[fenixinthedark.livejournal.com]

Agreed and seconded.

Considering how hot and bothered this administration was to get over there and begin an illegal war on baseless charges from spurious and made up "intell", one would think they would not *care* about "ROE". For the love of all that's pure and holy, we've already shed enough innocent blood (ours *and* theirs)... do what is necessary to get the fuck out.

[the_axel]

Depends on what you mean by 'effective' really.

If being effective means occupying a country without regard for the opinions of the locals then that is absolutely right.

If being 'effective' means convincing the locals that you're on the same side so that the military presence can be withdrawn leaving behind a country that is not an authoritarian dictatorship and is friendly then the court of public (Iraqi) opinion is the key measure of success.

[the_axel]

To put it another way - to actually achieve the outcome the Bush regime claims it wants means a much, much higher body count, to occupy the country as a protectorate requires a much larger and aggressive military presence, the current approach is half-arsed and doomed to fail at everything except an ignominious retreat - much like Vietnam really.

Take two...

[fenixinthedark.livejournal.com]

Which is exactly why it is ridiculous to even try.

They are someplace half way between, which is to say, they have already failed on all fronts. The only reasonable thing to do is to admit the failure, and do what *can* be done instead of sitting on Capital Hill pretending that the presence that has been committed is enough, and that "ROE" are even remotely feasible (or ignore the even worse potential; that they are laughably impossible and make this Country look ignorant and unintelligent in the extreme).

Re: Take two...

[the_axel]

The thing is, if they do that then the insurgency will get larger & more violent quickly and all their allies will withdraw in double quick time.

That will cause a lot more soldiers to die and all of the US's allies to withdraw, which means an even larger force commitment to maintain the status quo and thus even more US deaths, probably magnify the problem in Basra enough to shut down the ports there (which are currently making substantial amounts of cash for Halliburton et al).

If they can keep up much higher losses for 3 or 4 years then eventually the insurgency will start to calm down.

make this Country look ignorant and unintelligent in the extreme

Bush managed that by being appointed President by the Supreme Court.

[razerwolfe.livejournal.com]

Agreed. One must be fully commited to the destruction of the enemy and focused on that goal to the exception of all else. Just finished re-reading the Book of Five Rings and that is hammered home constantly. Fight to kill your enemy. Period. Dot. Anything else will lead to your own harm. To play nice while the other fights dirty is just fucking stupid. Fight Dirty from punch one and don't stop.