the contradiction of "fighting the war differently"

[greenman3610]

Democrats are getting sucked into this meme about
having our troops withdraw to their bases and letting
Iraqis do the fighting.

If you read "Fiasco", it's clear that from the beginning,
the US has tried to fight this war without a clear idea
that it was going to be a counter insurgency, and would
have to be conducted that way.
Successful counter insurgencies are won when the
army lives among the people they are trying to win over,
learns the culture, and suffers some of the same
privations, developing trust and a sense of the land.

Keeping our troops in sealed posts with video games,
internet cafes, and workout rooms has served to reinforce the
"occupier' meme rather than the "liberator" meme.
If we are going to continue to fight this war, our troops
will have to follow the only path that might have a chance of success.

That said, I think we are fucked no matter what we do.

[C_U_L8R]

1. The republicans have created a grand mess

yes a fiasco.

and someone's gotta clean up after them

[magellan]

2. I think you're right, greenman

The time for making good on Bush**'s promises was immediately following the invasion. (An invasion that should never have happened, I hastily add before the thought police arrive.) It's way too late now. We lost the hearts and minds game when we stood back and permitted Iraq to descend into chaos instead of going in with enough troops to secure the damn country.

But it's not us being fucked that bothers me half as much as how we've fucked over the Iraqis. How they must hate us.