SwiftVets.com

[ranch hand]

The Kerry camp is now pressing the issue about the number of troops in Iraq. They point out that certain civilians are now stating we did not have enough.

Huh!

One of the mistakes we made in Viet Nam was to let the White House run the war. Remember that LBJ thought the White House was smarter than the military and therefore the White House was deciding the targets for the Air Force. And even what bombs would be used.

Because of that lesson, we let the military call all the shots in Gulf I and Guld II. Won both in record time.

Now Kerry is telling us that he wants to return to the LBJ policy and have the war run from the White House.

This is not only bad judgement, it is no judgement.

R Evans
USAF, VN 69-70

[jim_nyc]

This guy made a great point as to why more troops were not available in Baghdad after our forces took it ....faster then any one was predicting.....

http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/
The Fourth Infantry Division, at that time the most modern armored force in the Army, was not absent due to the "Pig-headedness? Ignorance? Hubris?" of Donald Rumsfeld. It was missing directly as a result of the machinations of those supposed to administer Kerry's Global Test to America in the United Nations, who were large part responsible for closing Turkey to the United States. To continue Sullivan's quote: "Why doesn't Edwards bring that up directly tonight with Cheney?" Cheney should. And to Sullivan's question: "since it was so obvious so soon, why didn't the administration do anything to change that policy once its failings had become so glaring?" one might answer that it did, re-embarking the 4ID and sailing it a total of 1/5th of the way around the world into congested ports which had never planned to receive them, before marching it 600 kilometers up to Baghdad.




Now is not the time to put more US forces in Iraq. You would just be adding targets. Bush plan is solid. Train a new Iraqi army.

[Anker-Klanker]

Bremer's inopportune statement yesterday has been, and will continue to be, jumped on by the Kerry/Edwards campaign. The absence of the 4th is certainly one of the factors, but wasn't there another?

After Bremmer made that statement he tried to correct it to focus on the period immediately after the fall of Iraq, when all the looting was so bad. Well, Bremmer wasn't actually there at that time, which makes me wonder... And I also wonder what might have been going on between Bremmer, the civilian administrator, and the generals -- it sort of sounds like Bremmer's showing sour grapes that he wasn't the overall commander - civilian and military.

Also, as I recall, there was an issue of the military taking on the duties of policeman. The military never wanted that role; thought it inappropriate.

Everyone's forgetting, too, that we had a choice in those first few days between containing the looting and going after the enemy who melted away and disappeared into the urban jungle. I'm not sure that we did either one very well, but the whole situation was darned near impossible.

In other words, it was a whole lot more complicated than the 30-second sound bites would have you believe - particularly since so few understood what was really going on, and so many have forgotten so much.

[msindependent]

For Bremmer to say this less than 30 days before an election is curious and shame on him. I for one believe that we did not need more troops in Iraq then or now. One of my main reasons being that the military is more high tech now = fewer people to do the same task. I'm so sick of this argument.

[llano]

Bremer is not giving any more interviews. However, it was stated that he is writing a book! 'nuff said.

[Guest]

[Jerald L. Parsoneault]

Responding to Edwards statement during the debate that more troops are needed, Vice President Cheney corrrectly addressed the subject and did so with total clarity. He pointed out that sending more troops would simply delay the day when Iraqi security forces can assume responsibility for security in their country, and thus delay the return of our troops.

The Kerry/Edwards strategy is upsidedown and this message, among many others, needs to addressed over and over until the general public gets the message.

Nalt

[Kimmymac]

Too bad there is not a "NANCY REAGAN LOYALTY TEST" for these fools to pass before they are allowed to shoot their mouths off. Mrs. Reagan was great for ferreting out the weasels in the White House and dispatching them before they could do the President too much damage.

Bremer--color him gone.

[MichaelP]

Hello

It makes me angry that they are even making an issue out of this.

GRRRR

What we learned was:

1. Get the micro managers out of the white house and let the commanders make the decisions not the civilians in the white house.

2. Our fighting men kicked as and took names and the logistics side could not keep up.

3. They had French military training and dropped the guns and ran and became looters.

Michael

[Nutso]

Doesn't John Kerry owe us in this country about 8 months service in a combat role for the phony purple hearts he received??? Maybe we should send him to Iraq, but then again it wouldn't help much, he would be the only one there with both sides shooting at him.

[davman]

CAN YOU NAME THIS COUNTRY?

709,000 REGULAR (ACTIVE DUTY) PERSONNEL.

293,000 RESERVE TROOPS.

EIGHT STANDING ARMY DIVISIONS.

20 AIR FORCE AND NAVY AIR WINGS WITH 2,000 COMBAT AIRCRAFT.

232 STRATEGIC BOMBERS.

19 STRATEGIC BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINES WITH 3,114 NUCLEAR WARHEADS ON 232 MISSILES.

500 ICBMs WITH 1,950 WARHEADS.

FOUR AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AND 121 SURFACE COMBAT SHIPS AND SUBMARINES PLUS ALL THE SUPPORT BASES, SHIPYARDS, AND LOGISTICAL ASSETS NEEDED TO SUSTAIN SUCH A NAVAL FORCE.

IS THIS COUNTRY-

RUSSIA ? NO

CHINA ? NO

GREAT BRITAIN ? NO

FRANCE ? WRONG AGAIN ( What a Laugh!!!!!)

MUST BE USA ? STILL WRONG (SORT OF)

GIVE UP ?

THESE ARE THE AMERICAN MILITARY FORCES THAT WERE
ELIMINATED DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF BILL CLINTON AND AL GORE.

AND [their elimination] was 100% SUPPORTED BY JOHN KERRY (THESE HE DID VOTE ON)

SLEEP WELL! This is not a new message, but a reminder of why we now have deployment of our National Guard and Reserve Units.