It's too bad isn't it that a Gen Petraeus & his team of brilliant colonels couldn't have been employed sooner?

Question

Please see: http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson112207C.html

As stated - "The lessons are only the eternal ones: that wars won’t be fought as believed and won’t end as planned, but that adaptability, self-critique, and persistence, in an effort believed to be both right and necessary, will eventually prevail." It's great the surge is working beyond expectations

Also - it's great that Al Queda is getting stomped & villified in that part of the world

booman, wildman - I agree! Thanks

RTO Trainer - thanks for the good, well thought out answer!

Answer 1

The left can criticize Bush all they want, the truth is that he had to go through some really bad ones in order to get some really good ones.

They've done an excellent job and Bush has done an excellent job despite having to drag the libs in this country behind him.

Good question!

Answer 2

If there is such a thing as an "American Way of War," this would have to be part of it.

We had to go through meat grinders (Kasserine Pass-Iwo Jima) and quagmires (Anzio-Guadalcanal) to eventually win WWII. WWI was relatively easy on US troops, but that only because we had already fought a modern industrial war in the end of our Civil War and learned those lessons which our European counterparts had not experienced themselves.

No less an opponent than Field Marshal Irwin Rommel observed that Amerincs made the most adaptable Soliders he'd ever seen, commenting on the application of lessons learned after our defeat at the Kasserine Pass.

With the present conflict as manifested in Iraq, we've actually now passed, or are passing through a third conflict there since 2003--first the conventional war with the forces of Hussein's regieme that lasted only weeks, then a domestic insurgency, with us at the target, supported by foreign influences and finally domestic internal violence, directed at each other. In the case of the Surge, it would alomst certanly have been effective against the insurgency, and that was the backdrop against which it was developed, but the lioght footprint strategy we had employed was not ineffective against it, and arguably had succeeded in defeating it, though it was not well suited to quelling inwardly directed civil strife.

Answer 3

Agreed, for too long the struggle was too great because if inadequate leadership on the battle field. The tide is turning, and has brought light to a very dark tunnel. The Iraqi tribes are even working together against Al Qa'ida. Democrats still are in denial, even after the New York Times finally had to admit the surge is having a profound positive affect. I bet that just drove them crazy to have to report the truth for once.

Answer 4

Yes and that we fought a political war in the beginning instead of letting the military men like Petraeus fight with their own tools and decisions.

Answer 5

It is still not enough.
We need to unleash the full might of the greatest military ever of the USA. Let our men and women kick tail.

Answer 6

Yes it is, but at least it has been done now.

Answer 7

IT IS THAT WAY. IT WILL TAKE TIME TO GET THE JOB. DONE.

Answer 8

better late than never

Answer 9

Yes, it is too bad. Too bad we had to vote all those Republicans in '06 to make that stubborn Bush see that a strategic change in his Iraq policy was sorely needed.