Former Bush Chief of Staff on Rumsfeld

In a Washington Post story, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, former White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card urged Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld after the re-election. It seems he felt that some senior officials including Rumsfeld were unable to face the consequences of their policy in Iraq. One was that of the head U.S. Post War planner, Paul Bremer to disband the Iraqi Army. Even at that time this seemed like an asinine decision, considering that these guys had access to any number of weapons, no jobs, more importantly no job prospects and newly created anger towards the Americans. That this did not occur to the U.S. leadership running the “war” displays a level of arrogance that takes one’s breath away. What did they think was going to happen? that these former soldiers would just disarm and go back to their homes?

Even more scary is that these people are still running the country.

The 2006 National Intelligence Estimate

Sixteen U.S. intelligence services estimate that the terror threat to the U.S. has increased since 9/11. Jeez, thanks for the information guys. With all the sympathy, support and good will the U.S had built up after 9/11 a  sustained push to get the Al Qaeda, even inside Afghanistan may have kept the terror threat contained. As retired Maj.Gen. John Baptiste, who commanded the Ist. Infantry Div in Iraq aptly put, ” If we had seriously laid out and considered the full range of requirements for the war in Iraq, we would likely have taken a different course of action that would have maintained a clear focus in Afghanistan, not fueled Islamic Fundamentalism across the globe, and not created more enemies than there were insurgents.”

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would say that the Military Industrial complex needed a new enemy after Soviets collapsed and China was taking too long to pose a threat. That they have succeeded beyond their wildest imagination must make them happy. This “War on Terror” will keep the national security budgets steady or growing for a long time to come.

Yet another reason for a draft- tour extensions because of lack of troops

The Pentagon was forced to extend the tour of duty for 4,000 soldiers from the Army’s 1st Armored Division against the opposition from the Army Chief of Staff, Peter Schoomaker, according to “anonymous” sources. Apparently resting the soldiers is not that important to our brilliant Defense chief, the chief apologist this time with, ” There’s no question but that any time there’s a war, the forces of the countries involved are asked to do a great deal.”

Well, not really. Either pay them overtime or hire more people. If this was a Corporation, the company usually hires more people when the work load goes up. ( An interesting future post idea: what if the Army was a Corporation)

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, bless his heart made a politician’s statement, “My instinct is once the November election is over, there will be a lot more hard thinking about what to do about Iraq and lot more candid observations about it.”

Translation for non politicians, ” We have to get the re-election stuff out of the way before we try to tackle difficult questions, if it doesn’t die down by then.”

I guess it does not matter if some more soldiers get killed in the meantime. What a bunch of cynical, blood-sucking morons.

Messing with the Geneva Conventions

It looks like Sens. John McCain, Mark Warner and Lindsey Graham made some headway in slowing the administration down in weakening the U.S. commitment to the Geneva Conventions.  So why are not the rest of the Senators and the Representatives taking a strong stance against this outrageous proposal?

The administration is showing once again that it cares little for the the front line U.S. soldiers. I don’t get it. Firstly, a civilized country should not even debate this issue. Secondly, it does not take a genius to figure out that if we torture the captured Iraqis or the Taliban fighting against us that they might be inclined to do the same to our soldiers?

Someone has to keep reminding the geniuses running the current administration that you have to get more high value prisoners to get better information, Osama’s driver, cook or barber are not likely to know his plans for world domination.
I can understand the Military not wanting to oppose its Commander in Chief in this issue but it should not stop the American people from trying to stop this idiocy.

A professional armed forces

We have a “A professional armed forces” is the term most commonly used by the administration to deflect any talk about the need for a draft knowing full well that such talk by them is the kiss of death politically. While this term is touted at length what’s unclear to me is why drafted soldiers cannot be trained. After all they did great service in previous wars.

While I don’t know at what point the current volunteer recruit is shipped off to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq but I am guessing its not too far removed from basic training and advanced training of 14 weeks for front line infantry soldiers.

We need a Military Draft

Day in and day out we get news of the unending and accelerating violence in Iraq. Some experts, including some from the U.S. Military say a civil war in Iraq is inevitable. There are any number of reasons for this, not the least of which was how the U.S. managed the post war with the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Experts are still debating whether the U.S. actually declared war on Iraq or whether this was just a “police” action with “The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, Public Law 107-243, 116 Stat. 1497-1502 .

Whatever the case may be this military adventure is quickly closing in on WWII timeline, 1939 -45 and the country is slowly bleeding lives in a distant land with not only no end in sight but clearly heading towards more deaths at a faster pace. One cannot derive any sense of comfort that the government knows what it is doing by what it is saying, and the majority of the legislative branch, like an army of ostriches, hides its head in the sand.

With no easy way out of this fix one solution is to get more involved. The vehicle for this is to institute a military draft. Send in more troops, several hundred thousand more, to pacify Iraq. This is probably as good or better solution than cutting and running or the status quo which seems a hopeless situation helping neither the Iraqis or the U.S. The military needs the support of the American people in a substantive way and the draft will show the American people and those serving in the military that the country is behind them and committed.