Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I'm kinda tired of the concept that this macho bullshit cuts only one way, politically. They were all fully of this shit right up to the point when Bush (wisely) backed down and decided not to make the rubble bounce in Fallujah. Then, silence. If they really believed this crap, you'd think they would say that Bush is a pansy for backing off, but the silence tells you that it was just a line. Meanwhile, conservatives are lining up to piss on John Kerry, who actually risked his life in Vietnam, to help re-elect Bush, who spent the war in Texas and Alabama in a cushy gig where he could campaign for GOP senatorial candidates.
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There is no doubt that Bush & co. made a mistake in Fallujah, and you thinking it was a wise move is silly. Its just one more in a series of mistakes they've been making since the beginning, and it all ties in to elections etc.
Let them choose their leaders, tell them we'll back off, and back off. But the first time there's widespread trouble in a town (hundreds mutilating American bodies), go in heavy. We've seen the same pattern time after time in the same places.
Its part and parcel why the military rank and file is likely to sit out the next election. They've been set up and clay pigeons by an indecisive, disorganized and unprepared administration. The admin wants them to stand there, but it doesn't want them to react to problems.
Time magazine this week has a story of a reporter going through there and encountering numerous foreign fighters, ex-Saddam types etc etc etc. At first, I thought the Fallujah brigade was a serious effort, but reports since the marines backed off indicate that nothing has changed.
You want to see a peaceful Fallujah? Go back in time 2 months, let all the women and children leave, and invite all the men back. Granted, it wasn't the best timing, what with the Sadr thing going on, but its as good as you'll get.
As others here have indicated (including me), one of the benefits of being in Iraq is that it draws militant muslims from everywhere towards targets (American soldiers) that can actually shoot back. The problem is, a micromeddling group of pentagon civilians has done their utmost to make sure they do not. Which is exactly why we hear the same stories from the same places on a daily basis. You think the marines wanted to leave Falluhah?
Nope, that was your cocaine-snorting leader and his neo-con bodies that bowed to pressure and allowed that to happen.
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