GeekForce

 (11-29-06)

 Iraq’s hotter than a firecracker, with the totally wrong people (and there are no right people) getting killed.
 A brief snippet from Assoiated Press on 11-22-06:  (there’s very few correspondents in Iraq now, but it looks legit) and phil’z thoughts follow:
 BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 101 Iraqis died in the country’s unending sectarian slaughter Wednesday, and the U.N. reported that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll of the war and one that is sure to be eclipsed when November’s dead are counted. The United Nations also said citizens were fleeing the country at a pace of 100,000 each month, and that at least 1.6 million Iraqis have left since the war began in March 2003.  ‘Washington Times’ , 11-23-06

The future SHOULD be the US’s carefully balanced withdrawal, paired with ‘intelligent intelligence’ as to where exactly to withdraw from and in what time frame it should lie.

A huge advantage is the veteran-Pentagon-dictator, not NOT Iraq’s dictator, but ours, the former Defense Secretary, Mr. Rumsfield, is out of the picture.  (sort of….the big guys in our nation’s capital seem to ALWAYS land cushy, lucratve ‘consulting’ gigs).

An equally huge disadvantage to his dismissal, however, is that as always in these matters, there’s likely a large vacuum of knowledge and brute power at the top of the Department of Defense in an inevitalbe ‘jogging for power’ game in the fortress (pentagon) will be sure to continue for several more months.  Not, mind you, for the head honcho’s spot–it’s immediately filled–but for the dozen-or-so layers of empowerment under him/her.

 This is precisely what our armed forces’ leadership wrings its now-flattened hands over.  When our stellar forces captured Baghdad and took possession of Iraq’s bombed/shelled ministries’ palaces, nobody on our side knew exactly what the function of most of them were.  The soldiers of the mighty 82nd and 101st, are trained as strike fighters and designed strictly as an ’in-and-out’ force (add: Special Forces and US Marines).  They, instead, have been relegated to “humanitarian” roles such as elementary school teachers, playground attendants, trash collection workers, power plant workers, street crossers, etc.  These are normally roles delegated to countries contributing less substantial stregnth and manpower, and ONLY during the  first few days of such a ‘victorious’ military campaign while new leaders get quickly installed.  Examples of these forces include those belonging to nations, in particular, India, Spain, smaller Arab nations and a host of others.  Desert Storm I enjoyed 27 nations contributing participatory forces.   Desert Storm II, by comparison, at the maximum (ie, first 5 weeks) sweated the job with only 9 (or more realistically 8 ).  Average forces of contributing nations (other than the US) in DS I = 1179; the same of DSII = well less than 450.  And we’re including Canada!!!

Our uniformed personnel in near-singular performing of “humanitarian actions” (ie. sewer cleaners, quite literally) instead of sharing them with secondary Allied forces, who are not AT ALL trained in cultural matters and manners, will naturally botch a lot of Iraq’s day-to-day minutae here and there.  The compounding and continuing effects of all of this continue (and they will), it’ll simple guarantee that the U.S. will enjoy, oh, three generations of yet more Arab resentment of our country and society.  The blame?  Pin it squarely onto our politicians’ decisions and deeds. 

 Did we start this mess in our best intent?  Sure.  Did we receive the worst results?  Yep. 
 A bright note, though:  when our brave (but cruelly used) military personnel come home from this deplorable snafu, we ALL will cheer them and not spit on them.  We should recall the large and wretchedly shameful crowd of Americans that violated our soldiers returing from the Vietnam Conflict soldiers some forty years ago. We as a country have matured; we support our troops. 
 Pray that we don’t pick our next fight with Iran, an idea which is consistently batted around behind closed Pentagon ‘think-vaults’.  Iran’s army is more than four times the size of Iraq’s, and Iran has zero miles of tethering ‘no fly zones”, nor does it struggle with the restraining effects of nasty sanctions. Holding back Iran’s fanatical and immense forces all-Shiite government and army would be a bit of a challenge.  The forces there are suicidal as a

GI passionate about longing ice cream as he shields his dusty eyes in the baking sun of Messopotamia. Invading or bombing Iraq’s massive neighbor is akin to simultaneously pulling two cub deprived, famished and rabid wolverines by their tails (providing, of course, they even HAVE tails). 
 As the Defense Department brings this up, too (as they were shopping for a spot to fight a nifty war) I’ll share that fighting North Korea, as many brave US vets will today attest, is rather chilly and unpleasant experience.  It’s damn cold.  Imagine columns halted by frozen drive trains belonging to transport and combat vehicles. Worse, imagine iced and useless weapons.  Again, ask a Korean vet.  We don’t EVEN want to go there.
Today and in the future, may cool heads forever prevail.   May our elected officials’ heads, which thus far have been a bit astray, somehow turn and face the truth’s warm light.