Fire Some Generals

The war in Iraq has gone poorly for one primary reason….we went to war not really resolved to do whatever it took (within moral & ethical bounds) to win.

In war, initiative and momentum are absolute requisites and both were lost early on in Iraq due to leadership that was more concerned about avoiding political turbulence than defeating the enemy. Three primary events led to the loss of momentum. They are as follows: 1.) The Muqtada al-Sadr mosque stand off in which American and Iraqi forces had every right (by Geneva convention) to destroy Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia, but chose not to due to political considerations 2.) The tepid response to Iran and Syria’s active participation in the war due to political reasons. 3.) Restrictive ROE (Rules of Engagement) that quickly restricted our warriors’ ability to fight and win the war.

Terrorist forces, to whom “might makes right”, correctly saw these blunders for the tepid, feckless strategies that they were and simply took the initiative and momentum from coalition forces. Having trained Arab officers for the army and fought in the first "Desert Storm" as an infantry company commander, I can tell you that “face” and raw power are salient proclivities in the arab psyche. Any concession in war will be viewed pusillanimously from their 7^th century vista.

Secretary Rumsfeld should have been fired, but not for the chimerical reasons the illusionist, liberal press created. Donald Rumsfeld did not fire enough Generals. And President Bush has to take responsibility for this as Commander in Chief! In this case the President’s legendary (and very honorable if not, naive) loyalty to his subordinates was a curse and not unction to the fight.

In every major war (“peace time leaders (Generals, Colonels etc.)” get relieved for ineptitude in the rigors of war. The reason is quite simple…the attributes that foment success in peace time (ingratiation, political skills etc.) are antipodean to the proclivities that are desirous in winning wars (audacity, courage, independence, control etc.). President Lincoln may not have been a military genius, but he understood well the advantages of momentum verses inertia very well and fired & hired Generals accordingly. During World War Two there are numerous instances (read “Death of a Division”) of commanders being relieved for feckless impotence.

To my son, who served twice in Iraq as a cavalry scout with the Fourth Infantry Division, the root cause of the problem was deafening. During his first service in Iraq the ROE (rules of engagement) were sufficient and engendered  respect from the local population (face). During his second tour he was amazed and outraged by the changes in ROE, if a soldier even accidently fired his weapon, reports had to be completed, and soldiers were left with a feeling of self-imposed impotence.

The way forward is simple; let’s wage moral, ethical, but unconditional war! We are the 20^th Centuries most prolific pugilist and juggernaut…my hope is that General David Howell Petraeus understands this as well. Recent events have been more promising.