Comments on: Patrolling the Shatt

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:09:57 +0000

“Dont be so pessimistic compbell. Your sound like one of those kids who always has a bad view on everything. You cant walk away from everything with your tail between your legs.“
Oh no, you’re selling him short. Campbell easily has the ability to walk away from everything with his tail between his legs.

By: Acad Ronin

Acad Ronin — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:14:34 +0000

1) There are many lessons of Vietnam we forgot, starting with gun trucks, and going on to MAT Teams (I was on one), CAP Platoons, and the like. Having a few guntrucks organic to every transport company might have prevented the Jessica Lynch ambush.
2) The Navy didn’t forget the riverine force, it appears to have gone out of its way to obliterate the memory. Congress loves big — carriers, submarines, cruiser-sized “destroyers”, etc. More pork for the voters. Also, more slots for admirals.
3) That said, what is missing from the story is free trade, i.e., no tariffs, so no smuggling of normal goods. No economic smuggling means fewer experienced smugglers, and it also means that every smuggler is a hostile, not just your normal criminal.

By: Ed Helms

Ed Helms — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 05:43:47 +0000

You either support our government and those elected or vote them out when their term is over. So far President Bush has stayed the course on tracking down terrorists that struck this country on 9/11. Bill Clinton had a weak record on military affairs and did not have the fortitude to initiate any action that would have curtailed what happened later. While I don’t claim to know everything, I know that Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush did more to ensure the U.S. military was kept at a strength and equipment level that no democrat has done.

By: Stefan

Stefan — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:41:49 +0000

It’s a good thing you reminded me about that, campbell. Otherwise I wouldn’t have forgotten that al-Qaida in Iraq is the most hated organization in the country, the unity government has a better approval rating than the President of the United States, the Iraqi Army is 300,000 strong, and that despite a year of everyone hoping it would happen, Iraq has not yet fallen into a catastrophic civil war.
But you’re right. Can’t be beat. I see the error of my ways.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 21:08:24 +0000

Dont be so pessimistic compbell. Your sound like one of those kids who always has a bad view on everything. You cant walk away from everything with your tail between your legs.

By: campbell

campbell — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 18:27:07 +0000

huh. we seem to have forgotten that there is no “win“ing of a war against indiginous, dedicated, guerilla forces, of whatever technical level. You must either kill them all, and their rising vengeful generations, or walk away from the conflict.
and so far, we’ve spent thousands of iraqi civilian lives, iraqi “insurgent” lives, thousands of U.S and allied lives, and a half Trillion dollars.….just to get to the “walk away, with our tails between our legs” next step…