VP Douses Ashes with Leak
Opium Futures Up Sharply
Hilary Decries Chauvinism
Eikenberry says 'Told You So'
Sun Tzu’s basic military premise turns on the perception of moral superiority. If an enemy’s sense of its own moral supremacy is unshakable, war with that enemy is too costly to consider. An alliance is a preferred solution to a relentless siege and likely bankruptcy for the attacker. On the enemy’s home turf? Remember Tora Bora?
Mr. President, are those your lips moving? You say it’s raining?
The Muslim now sees America divided, unable to stand. Hamid Karzai saw the handwriting on the wall and said so. Americans say he and his warlords are corrupt, never mind. Wake up. The suits had General McChrystal so hamstrung with rules of engagement no wonder the ridicule common among his staff. Given the intracacies of feminine logic, no doubt the skirts want a shot at it. Come on, Peggy Noonan. What’s good for the Vatican must be good for the US Army, right?
The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl W. Eikenberry was so busy whacking at McChrystal's cojones he forgot about his own. The former general should know better. His place in history assured, right up there with Pyrrhus. Remember Pyrrhus? Anyone? Anyone? Miss Hilary, muzzle your dog. What motivated him to begin bad-mouthing the military strategy as soon as Karzai was elected? Where was he before the elections in Afghanistan?
Once again, the enemy is emboldened by the obvious weakness of the opponent - the politicians, the bureaucrats, the rear echelon military cowards, the demoagogues masquerading as ‘the media’, all incapable of anything but criticizing each other.
So, it’s over. We all saw it on television. The morale of the American soldier, already at a nadir, has been squashed by that ignorant, arrogant fool called commander in-chief. No doubt Michelle and mama-in-law have the inside scoop on his command.
The people of Afghanistan, the country, the civilization has never been conquered. Never. It’s clear to everybody we do not have the belly for it. The locals no longer trust us and hedge their allegiances, withholding the key human intelligence required to engage an enemy trained by Americans in the latest American guerilla tactics.
It’s over. There is nothing to be won. The ‘terrorists’ fade into the Hindu Kush like Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch. The territory cannot be conquered by a modern army. Regular warfare is out of the question. The kingpins hide in friendly, politically unassailable territory.
The only available tactic is to reach out and touch the renegades in an unequivocal manner. Mossad knows how to do it. One can only imagine the kind of ‘persuasion’ used by those ragheads to find out about the assassination in Dubai. Notice how the hit squad is long gone, the target elminated. The posturing on C-SPAN will be revolting. Like Mexican scrambled eggs. Revueltos. Execrable.
No winners, no losers, no heroes, no villains, only casualties.
Unfortunately, there is always a half-soldier, half-politician who will take any job the commander has in mind, knowing the commander can always find some other half-wit to take the job. This one is unwinnable. So, Petraeus will further his own interests, able to blame his ultimate failure on some one, or some thing, else. What choices has he?
There is no definable enemy in the traditional sense. Petraeus can preside over some phantom strategic plan that looks good in Power Point, but will amount to little more than people running around in the desert shooting at anything that moves. Then he can retire and write a book saying he didn’t understand the enemy until now. By then, maybe the public will tire of the same old song.
McChrystal is the only one with a shot at a best-seller
Is that a new rug you’re wearing, General Petraeus?
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