Guybrush
Dittohead
He’s a buxom war nerd from Fresno, California. And a sharp-witted writer on anything war.
saddam is the bravest leader of all
He’s a buxom war nerd from Fresno, California. And a sharp-witted writer on anything war.
vimothy
yurp
He's definitely worth reading, and he knows his (war-related) shit.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Well if they're not doing any good by being there, and potentially making the problem worse...at least it'd stop so many of them being killed.
vimothy
yurp
I'm not sure that they're making the problem worse. Pull out the American soldiers and what's to stop shia and sunni going at it properly? What's to stop jihadists fermenting civil war if it doesn't break out naturally? What's to stop Kurds taking revenge on sunnis for the crimes of the Saddam era? What's to stop Iran or saudi Arabia moving in under the cover of "regional stability" and advancing their own agendas?...
Guybrush
Dittohead
None of that sounds especially pleasant, but some of it will happen regardless of the U.S. staying or not—they way I see it.
hundredmillionlifetimes
Banned
Clearly, the racist and genocidal sentiments being spewed forth by certain sociopathic posters here ["nuke the sunni's" etc], are comparable - in the 1930s - to a bunch of cackling Nazis arguing about "what's to be done about The Jews."
Much worse, much more disturbing, much more ominous than some fucked-up kid at Virginia Tech. Worse, because they seek to normalize their twisted ravings.
Again, Baudrillard was absolutely right: these screwballs permanently reside in a giant video game.
The Horror.
Much worse, much more disturbing, much more ominous than some fucked-up kid at Virginia Tech. Worse, because they seek to normalize their twisted ravings.
Again, Baudrillard was absolutely right: these screwballs permanently reside in a giant video game.
The Horror.
crackerjack
Well-known member
The part that I and presumably Guybrush were endorsing was the bit about the surge being doomed to failure.
Thanks for giving me the chance to clear that up, and also for the rest of your comment which is as constructive and rational as ever.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Could you please show me the exact post where someone on this thread says anything that could even remotely be interpreted as "nuke the Sunnis"? Ta, much obliged.
Yup, gotta hand it to you - people rationally discussing world events on an internet forum is INFINITELY worse than an unprovoked massacre.
You'd better watch out, boy - I'm packing Quad Damage here...
KILLING SPREE!!!
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Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
vimothy
yurp
hundredmillionlifetimes is talking about the discussion of the War Nerd article that Guybrush linked to, where Brecher slams the surge as trivial and declares that the only solution to the insurgency would be to nuke the sunni triangle. Guybrush and crackerjack both said that they thought he was right, although there's obviously more than one way to take that. (One might even say that maybe nukes are the only way to stop the insurgency - that still isn't the same as advocating their use). I'd link to it if I knew how, but it's somewhere on page 13.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Yeah, Rich just reminded me of it - I actually read it the other day, forgot about the "nuking" bit. (Still, it'd show the Iranians how things are done, eh?)
Guybrush
Dittohead
It should go without saying, but my endorsement only regarded the first paragraphs of Brecher’s text (that the surge won’t work).
While boyish romantisation of war is hard to defend, I think it’s fairly innocuous.
The Ward Nerd’s writings are far from twisted, actually. The fact that he relishes war aside, he has a very sober and grounded way of discussing it. As I wrote earlier, as far as I can see, all of his predictions have been correct so far. Moreover, he didn’t support the war back in 2003, so he isn’t—and never was—one of the nation-building cheerleaders.
While boyish romantisation of war is hard to defend, I think it’s fairly innocuous.
The Ward Nerd’s writings are far from twisted, actually. The fact that he relishes war aside, he has a very sober and grounded way of discussing it. As I wrote earlier, as far as I can see, all of his predictions have been correct so far. Moreover, he didn’t support the war back in 2003, so he isn’t—and never was—one of the nation-building cheerleaders.
crackerjack
Well-known member
i just clicked on that link hoping for a tidy little list of all his predictions made at the war's outset: statue toppling, fallujah, iranian meddling, rummy resignation, david kelly suicide, that sorta thing. damn these commentators and their long articles
Guybrush
Dittohead
So what is this? You ask. It’s the view from one of those fancy new outposts that are meant to bring the U.S. soldiers closer to the Baghdad people. This one overlooks the edge of Sadr City. I’m still curious of what you surge-backers think of how things are going. Are you ready to change your opinions?
vimothy
yurp
What opinions?
I know that the Petraeus/Nagl approach to COIN is going to be very difficult, and in all probability unlikely to succeed in the time which will be given to it. I've spent the last few months reading military critics of their approach (and have linked to some of the best on this board), particularly the 4GW writers. I back the surge because I want it to succeed, and the slaughter to stop.
Happy to hear your reappraisal though.
I know that the Petraeus/Nagl approach to COIN is going to be very difficult, and in all probability unlikely to succeed in the time which will be given to it. I've spent the last few months reading military critics of their approach (and have linked to some of the best on this board), particularly the 4GW writers. I back the surge because I want it to succeed, and the slaughter to stop.
Happy to hear your reappraisal though.
vimothy
yurp
Pat Lang blogs about the very outpost your picture shows:
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2007/05/a_disaster_wait.html
They seem to serve little purpose except as targets. Lang doesn't really mention this but it's discussed in the comments.
Guybrush
Dittohead
Yeah, I grabbed it from that Washington Post piece. Actually, I think this is one of the better initiatives since the war started. The soldiers mentioned that it means that the turn-out times are vastly shortened, which is a good thing.