| _____
OPEN MOUTH; INSERT FOOT: PART DEUX BY K. THOMAS_____
REUTERS/Reuters
|
The National Guard Chief says dangers for soldiers exaggerated. Say what!
With leadership like this, how can we wonder that the National Guard has encountered so many problems in Iraq? I would like to give the good General the benefit of the doubt, but his own words, if reported accurately, personify his stupidity. I have been accused of often speaking before I think, but this has to fit in the "beyond the pale" scenario. He goes on to say, "The casualty rate for Guardsmen is low compared with any previous armed conflict." Please! It is like saying there are 3000 muggings a week in New York City and this isn't much in a town of 11 million; however, if you are one of the mugged, it's a 100%.
AP Photo/Kasahara
|
Of course, the good general joins a company of his peers who have a tendency to say things that are just as stupid: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell when asked how long the war would last said, "It's not going to take years in Iraq to root out the insurgents."
"Should be able to reduce the troops from 130,000 to 30,000 by the fall," says Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. What fall was he talking about?
A former General who commanded forces during the invasion thought we'd be around for 2 to 4 years.
AFP/POOL/File
|
Now, the guy who was a major planner for the war, Douglas Feith, who General Franks called the stupidest man on the face of the earth, says he's not sure we had the right force for the invasion. Well, I can tell you, No, we didn't. Had we had the right force, our troops would have probably been mostly home by now." Feith likes the view of "course corrections." Oh great. I think that Franks was mostly right.
I love this. General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "We're on track, but the insurgency kills virtually every day." On CNN recently, the top general in the Middle East, when asked about how we were doing, said, "There's a lot of work to be done against the insurgency." Thanks.
Then General Casey: "Things in Iraq are hard." This is why we pay the generals big bucks for such revelations. What happened to his remarks about "making substantial reductions."
Lt. General John R. Vines said, very much sooner rather than later, Iraq will be able to provide for its own security.
The best one is the Vice President who said, "I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." God bless America. ____KT
Related Article:Open Mouth Insert Foot(02/09/05)
|
