With All Due Respect

I had planned to discuss further, my theory regarding our economy, but a quote from General Patraeus caused me to change my mind. So, we'll have more on economics, maybe tomorrow. Today, we're discussing the War and the so called Strategy. General David Patraeus has made some fairly bleak comments regarding the troop surge that is now the new strategy. He says it's going to get worse before it gets better . . . Isn't that the mindset for cleaning up any mess that makes no sense? It's always worse to have to redo something than it is to have just done it right to begin with, or in some cases, to have never started it. And how do you suppose that sentiment from their leader, makes the troops feel?

And with that, let's discuss the Iraq War again. I have left the topic alone for a little while. This new surge against the insurgency has me baffled. I see the root word of insurgent is surge. Now, who decides who is who, and how is that decision reached? I don't listen or read any of the Iraqi Arab news, but are they calling us insurgents? Since insurgent is defined as an armed rebellion against a constituted authority. And by the way, the definition addressing constituted authority, very much could describe the position of Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi government. Another thing that is really getting under my skin is the number of commanders this entire situation has, that have no combat experience. No wonder they all keep saying this is like no war before. None of them know what war was like before. I read a little history on our new General in charge. He's yet one more boomer in a high position that never saw Viet Nam. And interestingly, he is from a military family and just happened to marry the daughter of the superintendent of the United States Military Academy, at that time. I think we all know the potential connections for those at West Point. From the history I read, our General spent the Viet Nam years at West Point in Officer Training School, becoming an infantry officer. What a perfect place for a military man to spend at war time. I'm having trouble with this information. But there's more. Now he says Iraq is the global center for AlQaida. If that is the case, and frankly, I just don't know how they can know that; but if they do, then it's time for a new strategy in many areas. If Iraq is now the AlQaida headquarters, rather than monitoring American libraries and keeping all of us under surveillance, they can just trace every phone call coming out of Iraq and catch all those AlQaida operatives getting their instructions. We can let the civil war rage and let AlQaida be stuck in the middle of it or spend their effort on resolving it, because they won't get the Sunnis and Shiites in the same organization! We know that, already.

My last point is concerning Reid's comment and the time table. I think the conservatives have done their utmost to make certain it was broadcasted many times over and out of context, sort of like the Don Imus situation. Let me ask it this way. If you were a young person serving in Iraq and you have heard the following statements, which would discourage you and make you feel unsupported? The what is he; now the fourth general in charge of this "operation" says it's going to get worse before it gets better and we can expect more casualties and loss for awhile. Or some politician back home saying it's lost militarily . . . here's the quote from Senator Reid according to FOXNews "Now I believe, myself, that the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and you have to make your own decision as to what the president knows: that this war is lost, that the surge is not accomplishing anything," and there's more . . .

I ask again, which would have a greater influence on your level of hope, if you were there? And the sad thing is, in this "One Nation Under G~d," the outcome for Iraq has already been written in Genesis.

And the angel of YHVH said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; . . . And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.