[Grovenet] Is This Why The "Support Our Troops" Signs Dissappeared

[Meredith Bliss]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the strategy in Iraq seems to be based on 
the notion that having a lot of soldiers patrolling the streets of Baghdad 
(and elsewhere) will intimidate the "insurgents" sufficiently so that they 
will go into hiding. If you subscribe to this notion, then the idea of 
sending more troops to be even more intimidating makes perfect sense.

On the other hand, we learned long ago in this country that random police 
patrols were a waste of resources: unless you have a patrol car going by 
every location in the city every five minutes, the intensity of patrol has 
little or no impact on crime rates. And of course, no one would want to foot 
the bill for that sort of police presence. What does work to some extent is 
targeted patrol and interdiction, and all of the strategies of 
problem-oriented / community policing.

What we have in Iraq seems to be an unlearning of those lessons, and most of 
what is accomplished by the troops is just providing a target for the 
"insurgents," much as the Redcoats provided targets for Colonists in this 
country 230 years ago. What's that expression about learning from history?

Meanwhile, little to no effort has gone into training Iraqi police forces 
which have become little more than tools of the various tribal factions. 

Six years ago, we were unknowing participants in a political "paradigm shift" 
when a new contingent of folks came into power with the mantra that we do not 
respond to reality, we create our own reality. We are now living through the 
fruits of that terrible fallacy, as an attempt to force our reality upon an 
unreceptive world is nearing collapse. No one in Washington has a "solution" 
to the mess we've created in Iraq, but the consequences of this catastrophe 
will be far reaching. I don't see how anyone can believe that more of the 
same will create anything but more of the same. The Administration may just  
be hoping that enough more of the same will stave off the final collapse 
until after November, 2008.

Proving once again that "may you live in interesting times" is a curse, not a 
blessing.

On Thursday 21 December 2006 09:45, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> I heard it on the radio the other day and started looking around myself.
> It's true. Almost all of those little plastic "Support our Troops" ribbons
> have disappeared from cars everywhere!
>
> Then I see this in the today's news:
>
> "Soldiers in Iraq urge Gates to send more troops"
>
> "(Secretary of Defense) Gates had breakfast with U.S. soldiers to hear
> their views...
>
> "Sir, I think we need to just keep doing what we're doing," Specialist
> Jason Glenn told Gates.
>
> "I really think we need more troops here. With more presence on the ground,
> more troops might hold them (the insurgents) off long enough to where we
> can get the Iraqi army trained up."
>
> None of the soldiers present said U.S. forces should be brought home, and
> none said current troop levels were adequate."
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061221/ts_nm/iraq_dc_16
>
> But there seems little support for that idea at home.
>
> My, oh my. How times have changed.
>
> Ron D'Eau Claire
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
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Just happy to be here, but speaking 
only for myself!
Meredith Bliss --- www.rdrop.com/~mbliss
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