BLUMENTHAL: "The War Is Lost" (MUST READ)

[nostamj]

The "war is lost"
Military experts say they see no exit from the Iraq debacle -- and that the war is helping al-Qaida.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Sidney Blumenthal

<snip>

"I see no exit," said Record. "We've been down that road before. It's called Vietnamization. The idea we're going to have an Iraqi force trained to defeat an enemy we can't defeat stretches the imagination. They will be tainted by their very association with the foreign occupier. In fact, we had more time and money in state building in Vietnam than in Iraq."

"This is far graver than Vietnam," said Gen. Odom. "There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with a war that was not constructive for U.S. aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile and we're in much worse shape with our allies."

Terrill believes that any sustained U.S. military offensive against the no-go areas of the Sunni triangle "could become so controversial that members of the Iraqi government would feel compelled to resign." Thus an attempted military solution would destroy the slightest remaining political legitimacy. "If we leave and there's no civil war, that's a victory."

<snip>

Gen. Odom remarked that the tension between the Bush administration and senior military officers over Iraq is worse than any he has ever seen with any previous U.S. government, including during Vietnam. "I've never seen it so bad between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military. There's a significant majority believing this is a disaster. The two parties whose interests have been advanced have been the Iranians and al-Qaida. Bin Laden could argue with some cogency that our going into Iraq was the equivalent of the Germans in Stalingrad. They defeated themselves by pouring more in there. Tragic."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/09/16/iraq_war/index.html

[mhr]

1. Hate To Say It - The Long Time DUers Told It So Over A Year Ago!

eom

[nostamj]

5. i remember...

this just MUST be a bigger issue with Kerry. he should be quoting the same people Blumenthal does in this column to show just HOW thoroughly this 'war has been bungled by bushco...

[mike_c]

7. we did indeed, and have never stopped saying it....

eom

[ochazuke]

8. We Rock

DU was the best place for instant analysis of bush's State of The Union speech, powell's Security Council address, etc.

While the media were gushing "bush made the case...again!" and "the epitome of credibility" (PBS News Hour), my budz here at DU gave me the real story.

[nostamj]

16. yes, we're good and we were right, but...

these guys cannot be dismissed as 'internet bloggers' and lefties and peaceniks...

Kerry MUST repeat these denunciations of bushco policy from leaders who MUST be listened to...

[JPace]

2. President Kerry is going to have an awful mess to clean up....

and of course AWOL will walk away from another
one of his stupid decisions.

[Sugarbleus]

4. Isn't that the truth! Numbnuts will simply ..walk away........ >:-[ n/t

[Jack from Charlotte]

11. How will we get out of this mess?

Under AWOL, I just can't see anyway out. IS he going to just bomb them tell they all are dead? That's what would have been required in Viet Nam in order to win. Kill every single person there. VN, it's very clear to see now had nothing to do with USA vs Commies it had to do with they wanted all foreigners out of their country. They fought the Japanese, the French, the American's and then the Chinese after we left.

This Iraq deal is the same. They want the Gringos out. How does AWOL do that?

Pres. Kerry can call for an Arab/US Summit along with trying to get help from our allies. The world won't piss on The AWOL/Moron if he was on fire, much less trying to help.

How does AWOL/Moron get us out of there? Can't someone just at least ask the little moron?

[Sugarbleus]

3. Excellent post!! Very disturbing pic....

bookmarking your post for later printing. Thanks





BTW, I LOVE your anti-bush graphics.

[nostamj]

6. glad you like the graphics!

I'm actually selling quite a lot of my bumper stickers and t-shirts all over the country now...

[Sugarbleus]

9. How do I buy?

At your link there or where? thanks :D

[nostamj]

10. just click on either of the graphics

in the subject line. that will take you to my online store... lots and lots of goodies for liberals! thanks!

[Sugarbleus]

12. Oh, okay.... thanx n/t

[calimary]

13. I love Sidney Blumenthal. And yes, nostamj, we here WERE on this

from the beginning. Didn't we say this WASN'T the way to go? Didn't we say there was NO compelling evidence? Even in the face of all the trumped-up bullshit, we STILL maintained, through research, reading, discussion, scouring the internet for facts and informed opinions, that this war was utterly wrong.

Usually I LOVE being proven correct - but this just feels BAD. I wish we'd been wrong if for NO other reason than knowing that the lives we've lost (not to mention HOW MANY arms, legs, eyes, eardrums, innards, psyches, marriages, etc.) would not have been in vain. But no dice, here. The WORST of all bad things about a war, for the grieving families, is what's happened here. Their loved ones have, indeed, died for NOTHING.

I hope bush rots in Hell for all eternity for this. AND his cronies who pushed for this and blood-lusted for this. I hope they pay. I'd love to see some of that payback in this life. But at the rate our valiant, backboned Dems are going, it's gonna have to be in the Hereafter, I guess.

[skygazer]

14. "I sure am glad the war is over"

This is what I say, without fail, every night when I watch the news. The day that moron landed on the aircraft carrier and proclaimed "mission accomplished" I turned to my husband and said, "what the hell is he talking about?" It still infuriates me.

Now, every damn day when I hear about more death and destruction, when I see the faces of young men killed for no fucking good reason, I say it again, "Gee, I'm sure glad the war is over!"

Pathetic. I predicted when we went in there that it would be another Vietnam, that we'd be stuck there for who knows how long trying to prop up a puppet government that the people didn't want.

Sucks to be right.

[yardwork]

15. This is not a surprise

I knew that this would be a disaster as soon as the issue was ever raised, and I'm just a middle-aged white woman in the south.

How could so many people have been so misled? Answer - they weren't. Read my new sig line.

[AndyTiedye]

17. Boosh is Stirring up Hatred On Purpose

> Gen. Hoare believes from the information he has received that "a
> decision has been made" to attack Fallujah "after the first Tuesday in
> November. That's the cynical part of it -- after the election. The
> signs are all there."

So Boosh is adopting a scorched-earth policy, not only on Fallujah,
but on any chance of Kerry stopping the Crusade and repairing our
relationships with that part of the world.

[nostamj]

18. * needs 'endless war'

it's all he's got. peace is not good for his friend's business. (the same goes for good american jobs, sound environmental policy, etc etc etc)