Here’s what part of me also believes about Fallujah, the part that still hopes for success:
Like so many others, you seem to assume that the military commanders in Iraq are impossibly stupid, or else meek pawns that the White House just moves around on the board. I doubt either is the case. Why are you so anxious for the Marines to rush into Fallujah and kill people? The situation on the ground is obviously complex and simply using our overwhelming force has never been our prime tactic in Iraq. If it had been, we would have leveled the place from the start.
You can certainly make the case that the PR around the current events hasn’t been handled well. Fortunately, the Bush White House seems far more interested in long-term results than PR wins and we should be thankful that they are. More than likely, the situation in Fallujah is very complex and we here in the US, getting our information from prejudiced and imperfect sources simply can’t pass judgment until we see how it turns out.
Most of the things that went wrong in Vietnam went wrong because decisions were made in Washington that didn’t take into account the realities on the ground. Presidents and journalists prosecuted the war rather than the commanders who knew what they were doing. I suggest we let the people over there do their work and not second-guess them until we see the results of their efforts.
Sure. But that doesn’t mean we should not raise worries and concerns.
The Dish 