[antimedia] antimedia: The politicians daudle, the "experts" pontificate....

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Posted by antimedia:
The politicians daudle, the "experts" pontificate....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1168491352.shtml


   ....and the has-beens provide unwanted advice. Why not ask someone who
   has [1]been there and done that.

     "Twenty-thousand ex- tra troops won't make a dent under the
     disheveled and disorganized practice of the rules of engagement,
     which are a joke. There are seven different levels you have to
     think through before you can fire your weapon - and that's under
     battlefield conditions.
     "Our military can't fire their weapons on the enemy. We virtually
     can only return fire when we see someone shooting at us, and that
     may be too late. That's not how you fight a war."
     Danny was in a Humvee in Taji that day with fellow firefighter
     Engledrum when one of those dreaded roadside bombs blew his
     contingent sky high.
     When Swift regained consciousness, blinded in one eye, he went to
     Engledrum's side.
     "Sadly, Chris was gone and so was rifleman Willie Urbina," Danny
     recalled.
     But Danny, an Army medic, was credited with saving the lives of
     Felix Vargas and Ritchie Cornier.
     "Change of strategy? People have to realize that the Iraqis, on any
     side after thousands of years of violence, only respect the guy
     with the biggest gun," Danny was saying.
     "Wouldn't it be nice if we really went into Sadr City and cleaned
     it out. Then those guys in there would be saying to themselves,
     'These guys mean business.'
     "Trouble is a lot of our guys can't really give it everything they
     got even though they want to because they're worried about ending
     up in Leavenworth.
     "You have to let the military do their job."
     Are you listening, President Bush?

   Why is it that every enlisted grunt knows this but the people who make
   the decisions don't?

References

   1. http://www.nypost.com/seven/01092007/news/columnists/bravest_advice_columnists_steve_dunleavy.htm