Maj.-Gen. (Retd.) Robert H. Scales is a former commander of the US Army War College– and also, according to Col. Pat Lang, a former ‘counsellor’ to D. Rumsfeld. So we should all take it very seriously that Scales writes, as he did yesterday,
- the current political catfight over withdrawal dates is made moot by the above facts. We’re running out of soldiers faster than we’re running out of warfighting missions. The troops will be coming home soon. There simply are too few to sustain the surge for very much longer.
(Hat-tip to Pat Lang for that, anyway. Also, for the very similar message reportedly coming from Gen. Barry McCaffrey.)
Scales starts his article, which was published in the rightwing Washington Times, thus:
- If you haven’t heard the news, I’m afraid your Army is broken, a victim of too many missions for too few soldiers for too long…
He also writes,
- The Army’s collapse after Vietnam was presaged by a desertion of mid-grade officers (captains) and non-commissioned officers. Many were killed or wounded. Most left because they and their families were tired and didn’t want to serve in units unprepared for war.
If we lose our sergeants and captains, the Army breaks again. It’s just that simple. That’s why these soldiers are still the canaries in the readiness coal-mine. And, again, if you look closely, you will see that these canaries are fleeing their cages in frightening numbers.
The lesson from this sad story is simple: When you fight a long war with a long-service professional Army, the force you begin with will not get any larger or better over the duration of the conflict. For that reason, today’s conditions are pretty much irreversible. There’s not much that money, goodwill or professed support for the troops can do…
I could add to this, perhaps, that the Bush administration’s deliberate decision of having as much of this war as possible outsourced to private contractors has hugely accelerated the rate at which sergeants and captains have been leaving the nation’s military…
But anyway, the Scales piece is just the latest piece of evidence that– as I have been writing for a while now, including here— the main driving force pushing the US towards a fairly rapid withdrawal from Iraq currently comes from within the military establishment itself.
Scales also makes clear that however much money Bush and the Congress want to try to throw at the Iraq problem, and however much they want to try to increase the size of the military, it is now quite simply too late to “save” the situation in Iraq.
(Lang also notes this: “MG Robert Scales has been a military analyst for Fox News, and was a counselor to Rumsfeld. He helped create the situation that he complains of now. He should go and hide somewhere and not walk abroad among the living.”)
So now, I guess the US will be pulling out of Iraq with the Army it has, rather than the Army it might wish it had?
We do all still need to figure out what the politics– domestically and globally– of a ‘Tank’-led US withdrawal from Iraq will look like.
We also need– all of us in the world community, not just people who are US citizens– to work together to figure out what kind of a military establishment the US might actually need as it comes out of this terrible, terrible misadventure in Iraq.
“We do all still need to figure out what the politics– domestically and globally– of a ‘Tank’-led US withdrawal from Iraq will look like.”
Depends very much indeed on whether the Bush regime takes the plunge regarding an attack on Iran, or not, does it not?
“(Lang also notes this: “MG Robert Scales has been a military analyst for Fox News, and was a counselor to Rumsfeld. He helped create the situation that he complains of now. He should go and hide somewhere and not walk abroad among the living.”)”
Absolutely!
A year or so ago, a British officer who had served with the US Army im Iraq wrote a devastating critique of the US military (I wish I’d bookmaked the URL – I’ve never been able to find the article again). The gist of it was that the US Army was already being devastated by the “flight of the captains” – i.e. captain was the highest rank most career officers could hope to achieve (to climb any higher meant greasy-pole politicking rather than talent) so, faced with the prospect of endless tours of front-line duty, experienced officers were voting with their feet.
American officers (he felt) were also poorly educated compared with their European counterparts, and the notion of the “warrior”, as opposed to the citizen-soldier, meant that roles such as peace-keeping were quite beyond the capabilities of US forces.
In short, the US military is basically unfit for purpose. What kind of military establishment does the USA need? How about one that can defend its homeland, but can’t sashay halfway round the world to screw up anyone else’s? (Just my British two-penn’orth)
Terrible misadventure in Iraq? Saddam Hussein, a nefarious dictator, is no longer in power and we have killed and captured an untold number of terrorists in the region and elsewhere.
http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/parks/03302007.htm
Lead on President Bush.
“How about one that can defend its homeland, but can’t sashay halfway round the world to screw up anyone else’s? (Just my British two-penn’orth)”
A militia, in fact, as their Founders envisaged.
Their advice against standing armies in time of peace would need to give way to advances in technology by allowing for a hefty nuclear deterrent force as well, but otherwise it was sound advice.
And, yes, I’d advocate the same thing for my own country as well. A genuinely independent nuclear deterrent force could easily be afforded if our conventional armed forces were scaled down to what is actually required for our defence, rather than for roaming murderously around the world interfering in other folks’ business and making our politicians feel important.
Regarding the potential attack on Iran, does anybody know when the Nimitz group will be in the area? Not sure I necessarily believe the US statement that there will be no overlap with the Eisenhower….
“Terrible misadventure in Iraq?”
US army “broken”, best part of a million dead Iraqis, over 2000 dead US military personnel and many thousands of seriously injured, expenditure running into trillions, US global reputation at a new nadir, huge free fire training zone created in Iraq for Al Qaeda and its ilk, huge increase in power and influence of Iran in the region, …
“Terrible misadventure” seems tame, somehow.
“Saddam Hussein, a nefarious dictator, is no longer in power”
I’m sure it was all a price well worth paying for that great achievement. Pay no attention to the fact that Iraq is now run (sort of) by a government that survives only behind US bayonets, running sectarian death squads and incapable of supplying its people with electricity, let alone security. And whatever you do, pay no attention to the BBC’s poll findings this year that 51% of Iraqis think attacks on US and allied forces are acceptable, and half of Iraqis think things are somewhat or much worse now than before the war.
“and we have killed and captured an untold number of terrorists in the region and elsewhere.”
Right… Does it bother you at all that those “terrorists” (the small percentage of the numbers killed or held by US and British forces who are actually guilty of anything, that is) wouldn’t have had either the opportunity or the inclination to attack any American target, had it not been for the invasion of Iraq?
“Lead on President Bush.”
Straight to Hell…
In what weird, wild, and wacky fantasy world do you live, ya Farah?
Helena Cobban
I could add to this, perhaps, that the Bush administration’s deliberate decision of having as much of this war as possible outsourced to private contractors has hugely accelerated the rate at which sergeants and captains have been leaving the nation’s military…
Bush’s Shadow Army
Jeremy Scahill reports on the Bush Administration’s growing dependence on private security forces such as Blackwater USA and efforts in Congress to rein them in. This article is adapted from his new book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army (Nation Books).
Randal
the fact that Iraq is now run (sort of) by a government that survives only behind US bayonets, running sectarian death squads
Crying Wolf: Who is Behind the Death Squads in Iraq?
Farah
If their justices in this world you and your lovers should be executed under the terrorist act keeping your democracy to yourself.
Don’t forgot the facts that ” Saddam Hussein, a nefarious dictator” was supported by CIA in 1959, 1963, and then in 1968.
You are either trying to puts words to anger sensible and minded people here or you are on Bushiest payroll some where in Green Zone/Baghdad, Kuwait, Qatar Manama, Saudi, finally Jordan.
To Farah
Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, the American historian who in his 1996 book “Hitler’s Willing Executioners” deprived the Germans of the belief that they didn’t know what was going on back in the day, is currently studying the history of genocides in the 20th century. One of the things he has noticed is that the politicians or military leaders who planned genocides and had them carried out rarely concealed their intentions in advance. Whether the victims were Hereros, Armenians, kulaks, Jews or later Bosnians, the perpetrators generally believed that they were justified and had no reason to hide their murderous intentions.
Randal,
“does anybody know when the Nimitz group will be in the area?”
It is anchored in SD harbor at this hour, along with it’s guided missle cruisers and destroyers, the Princeton and … They had an air show of sorts over the weekend. It takes them approx. 3 weeks to sail to the Persian Gulf.
McCaffrey on McCaffrey, in short
6. SUMMARY:
We have brilliant military and civilian leadership on the ground in Iraq. General Dave Petraeus, LTG Ray Odierno, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have the country’s treasure and combat power at their disposal. Our cause is just. The consequence of failure will be severe.
The American people hold that the US Armed Forces are the most trusted institution in our society. The polls also show that domestic opinion is not calling for precipitous withdrawal. However, this whole Iraq operation is on the edge of unraveling as the poor Iraqis batter each other to death with our forces caught in the middle.
We now need a last powerful effort to provide to US leaders on the ground —the political support, economic reconstruction resources, and military strength it requires to succeed.
Barry R. McCaffrey
General USA (Ret)
Adjunct Professor of International Affairs
USMA, West Point, NY
US Army broken eh?
Then one good thing has resulted from this massive war crime then.
Are all those junior officers and ncos signing up with mercenary outfits for more money?
Thanks, David
My name is Baghdad
baghdad بغداد الحبيبة………وحشتيني
My name is Baghdad, Je m’appelle Bagdad
Re the Nimitz:
According to the FT , “the Nimitiz is due to set sail today” [Apr. 2] and will arrive in the Gulf in early May to relieve the Dwight D. Eisenhower.
“But the navy made clear it would not have three carriers in the Gulf at the same time.” so rest assured.
“There simply are too few to sustain the surge for very much longer.”
So the surge is doomed to failure. And so anyone, Iraqi or American, who dies as a result of it is simply being sacrificed for the sacred cause of ensuring that George W. Bush is never seen to fail at one of his many idiotic business ventures.
I swear, the more I watch this deluded, sociopathic, in-bred imbecile in action, the more I’m reminded of the scene in the German film Downfall, when one of Hitler’s generals reminds his Fuehrer that young men are fighting and dying for him in the streets of Berlin.
“But, isn’t that what young men are for?” Hitler asks, quizzically.
It appears Shrub doesn’t get the point, either.
Salah
A. Can you verify that the CIA bit? Do you have ‘access’ to classified information the rest of us don’t? To your credit, we were in the middle of a Cold War; Kassim had removed Iraq from the Baghdad Pact and aligned the nation waith the former Soviet Union (aka communism).
B. In your second post, I take it you were refering to Saddam. I’m glad he was removed. What you said is very true.
C. The video bit: It is sad and unfortunate. My heart goes out whole-heartedly to the Iraqi people. However, Iraq is a critical front in the war against al-Qaeda. The US and its allies CANNOT allow al-Qaeda thugs to est. a permanent base in Iraq, which would become a springboard for it to penetrate the heart of the Arab world, and threaten moderate Arab regimes. Bin laden is not just a terrorist but an Islamic revolutionary and his ideological fantasy is to unify the entire Muslim world in one state ruled under his radical brand of Islam.
“My heart goes out whole-heartedly to the Iraqi people.”
Kindly spare us your hypocrisy and keep your heart to yourself.
US Hollywood Style Visit
fooling US citizenry make them believes in their lies like Farah (your CIA already have no confidence either with Iraqi WOMD before) keep believen the liars, good on you
A day after members of an American congressional delegation led by Senator John McCain pointed to their brief visit to Baghdad’s central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city was working, the merchants there were incredulous about the conclusions.
“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!”
The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees – the equivalent of an entire company – and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior U.S. military official in Baghdad said.
The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the rooftops. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.
“They paralyzed the market when they came,” Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. “This was only for the media.”
Once”>http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070405-085905-9418r>Once again, that innocent dove or spotless lamb of a Barry McCaffrey.
Well, we did not learn from history once again. Not only have lessons from Vietnam been ignored, but there is another equally important lesson to be looked at. The British sent thier professional army into Europe at the begining of the First World War and watched the experienced soldiers either die in the trenches during the first year of the conflict, or leave as they saw how futile the war had become through the mismanagement of Generals that had fantasies of victory while they sipped brandy and smoked cigars from across the channel. We are suffering the same fate with regards to our professional army in Iraq. We have two options. Leave or reinforce the military with conscription. The British tried this (conscription) and thier empire suffered for it and lost almost an entire generation of young men.The British were unsuccessful at thier attempts to subjugate the middle east for Queen Victoria. It took many lives to finally get thier pride swallowed. Will we also have to loose many of our best, bravest, and brightestbefore we learn that itis past time to leave?