Jan

23

My problem with Iraq

Posted by Little Miss Know it All

January 23, 2007 |

littlemissknowitalld.jpgI’m not a military expert, and I will never claim to be.  However, I do have a few questions and problems with what is going on in Iraq.  Throwing out the argument that we’re recruiting for Al-Qaeda, and doing the bidding of Iran and Syria by keeping Iraq as the poor, unorganized neighbor next door…(all of which I agree with)

Mainly, my argument is this:  what is this doing to our status as a Superpower?  In the 90’s, when the Soviet Union collapsed and we were left standing, we did a whole lot of beating our chests and proclaiming to ourselves and anyone that would listen that we were the last Superpower left standing, and aren’t we great?  We can do anything, you, well, you have to go through us first.

 Seems that image is quickly collapsing around the world. 

We have the most high tech toys, we have an economy that most envy, and we have more stuff in our houses than we know what to do with.  However, when it comes to occupying and defending a nation that is roughly the size of one of our smaller states, we can’t do it.  Why not?  If we’re such a superpower, so militarily brilliant and strong, why not?

 Why didn’t we see the revolution coming in how warfare is conducted?  Did we think that just because we have all these shiny, pretty planes and tanks that no one else was thinking about it?  Why did we not see that the majority of warfare in the world was done with terrorist tactics?  In Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East, in Latin America, guerilla or terroristic fighting is the method used most.  Why did we roll into Iraq thinking Shock and Awe was going to cut it?

 For 10 years now, historians and political professors have been warning that the US had less than 50 years left to their Superpower status.  What I see is Iraq proving their point.  Has President Bush hastened that day?  Do we look foolish to the rest of the world?  Does the rest of the world, especially those who like to hate us, look at us and now see an easier target?  Through our failures have we shown them our underbelly, our weak spots, the way to come in and hurt us?

 I’m just an armchair quarterback.  But I think the questions are valid.  Any thoughts?


Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. Max Power on January 24, 2007 8:34 am

    Damn girl! You put some thought into these!! I’m truly impressed.
    It is often a military problem, trying to fight the current war with the last wars stratgies.

  2. Little Miss Know it All on January 24, 2007 4:15 pm

    I wish I could say I did take a lot of time on this one. Some posts I agonize over, and others I just rant off the top of my head. This was a rant. I find that when I rant and then think about it, it doesn’t get posted. I have several like that sitting in my box waiting to be finished…And if I thought about these rants more, I might be able to defend them better! Sorry to say, this is just off the top of my head, the kind of thing I think about… But thank you, Max Power.

  3. Christopher Waldrop on January 25, 2007 9:58 am

    What frightens me is that whenever anyone mentions superpowers and the Soviet Union, we’ve become, in a way, the very thing we used to hate. When I was a kid people told me we hated the Soviets because it was a place where citizens could be pulled off the street and held indefinitely for no reason and with no defense. It hasn’t quite reached that point, but I see that happening here very soon. How we look to the rest of the world isn’t nearly as important to me as what we really are.

  4. John on January 26, 2007 1:19 pm

    “Those who don’t learn from history…..” When you have a military that is being politically handcuffed they can not be successful. Someone told me recently (when they couldn’t argue successfully how this war had something to do with 9/11) that hindsight is always 20/20. Apparently they could not see the how we went down this road before over 30 years ago.

    Interestingly, more recenlty, a nother lesson was learned when the US military did conduct an exercise in the western states that used the premise that the US invaded a middle eastern country. The “enemy general” was a US general that had extensive experience in the middle east. With a smaller, less technical force he used the very same methods we see today. The only difference is that the “enemy general” in that exercise actually won, whereas we are merely in a bogged down stalemate waiting for a lucky break. That general was criticized for breaking the rules, and the exercise was re-run again. A do over so to speak. He was never consulted (like many others) during the planning of this latest action.

  5. Little Miss Know it All on January 26, 2007 2:35 pm

    A “do-over” for not following the rules? Are they serious? Its like they have blinders on! Here was one of their own showing them just how it will be, and because he didn’t play nice, the way they wanted him too, didn’t give him the result they wanted, they had a “do over.” Sheesh.

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