COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

We Need 250,000 More of These (UPDATE)


(Update) Hat Tip to Cutler for this
And as the previous post states we have to pay for them. Allen in the same post referred to this article published by Whit's partner Tiger at Observanda

More Troops
The consensus for a larger Army is about as complete as it could be.

by Frederick W. Kagan & William Kristol
10/02/2006, Volume 012, Issue 03


"You can hardly read a story about Iraq these days without seeing an Army or Marine officer say he doesn't have enough troops to accomplish his mission. Senior officers respond that this is what junior commanders always say. That's not quite true. Commanders in charge of secondary missions often ask for more resources than they need, not recognizing their missions are less vital. But the calls for more troops in Iraq come from soldiers training Iraqis, from soldiers trying to secure Baghdad, from soldiers in Anbar. If all of these are secondary missions, where's the main effort? The truth is there are not enough ground forces in Iraq, and military officers are finally saying so in public."

30 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. In Iraq it is not more troops, but better applications of the troops.

    The skill sets needed, though, are not those on hand. It is US troops embedded with the Iraqi, with the Iraqi in the lead, that holds the solution. Not a larger US presence.

    Less would be more, if there is no need to garrison for a Regional War.
    After all, no Regional War has been authorized by US Law.

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  7. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit #3 Put first things first.

    2164 ID'd it with military defense. All the rest takes a back seat if we can't protect,project,deminish, and defeat our enemies. Kodo & hossanas x3.

    Secondly this country since the advent of the income tax has become a Marxist redistribution of income machine. We're not going to escape it in the forseeable future.
    It has recently been expanded beyond income tax to redistribution of private property
    Kelo vs. New London which will enrich fewer people and provide politicians with more ways to spend our money.
    And this does not even address the moral authority to oust Mom and Pop from their lakefront home to build a marina. The Caymen Islands are awash with off shore high income citizens wealth that goes untaxed as well as corporate money.
    I well know that the rich pay 90%+ of the income tax revenue but when 70-80% of their money is in a safe haven the uneven field tilts even greater. Do they need $8,000 shower curtains and $5,000 waist baskets? How much trickel down did that produce?
    One solution would be to disallow their portfolios to contain more than 3-5% of tax free municiple bonds. Another would be to bind trusts from covering the entire wealth to be transferred using life insurance as the vehicle.Life insurance transfers tax free.
    Finally demand of your Congreeman that the outlines Rufus has provided us with anent alternate fuels be done, and now isn't soon enough.

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  8. The military needs to be increased regardless of Iraq. Now, the problem is doing that without a draft.

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  9. Cutler,Thanks for the tip on the Ace link.

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  10. I agree with Reductor. If the Iraqis are made to be concerned with getting food on the table, or keeping their roofs and their homes from being blown-up in US reprisal attacks, they'll be less inclined, or have the time, for the kind of nonsense the US is forced to deal with.

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  11. Well, sure, if the US military used different Doctrine in dealing with the Iraqi, there could be a different outcome. If the people of Iraq had been defeated, instead of liberated, there could have been a different outcome.

    If the Congress declared an International War against IslamoFascism, the Hamadan decision would no longer be applicable.

    If a frog had wings,
    it wouldn't bounce it's belly.

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  12. Here's how it breaks down.
    Rummy has a "new" model in mind for the armed forces
    He lets every general know.
    They buy in(or pretend)to get promoted etc.
    The grunts take needless hit cause the ROE's are all fucked up.
    Rummy askes the generals if they need more troops.
    Knowing his "new"model doesn't include but rather reduces force levels they all say "NO SIR, CAN DO"
    More grunts get killed as ROE's remained in the red zone of fucked up.
    The ROE's are coming from the White House for diplomatic reasons.
    More grunts get killed.
    White House continues to insists that Islam is a religion of peace
    Islam bombs Spain,England,Bali etc.
    More grunts and civvies get killed.
    Rummy asks generals ,"Need anything"
    The Rummy paradigm rings in their ears, their by now Pavlovian response is "NO SIR CAN DO"
    More grunts get killed
    PRESIDENT won't touch the draft issue, remembering the 1960's, so we don't get more troops.
    We're just gonna make the ones who are in so resentful that when a draft does come they'll be a hundredfold of John Kerry's.
    It's so,so fucked.

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  13. dRat,

    If that's the case, then the US should pull the troops out.

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  14. "Dogtag One to flight, target in sight"
    "Waco, this is Dogtag One, we have a party of thirty to fifty AQ's in sight, should we attack?"
    "Dogtag One, this is Waco, hold on"
    "Roger Waco"
    "Waco, it looks like there's some type of ceremony taking place, can you confirm,over"
    "Roger that Dogtag, it looks like they're burying a kidney..may OBL's, over"
    "Waco should I attack,over"
    "Hold on Dogtag One"
    "Roger"
    "Dogtag One, those are high priority target AQ"
    "Great Waco can we attack?,over"
    "Dogtag One those targets have been promised to the Delta boys or the Seals over"
    "Waco, this is Dogtag One, repeat please?,over"
    "Dogtag One return to base, do not ,repeat do not attack,over"
    "Roger Waco"
    "Dogtag flight this is Dogtag One, let's go home"
    " Dogtag One this is Dogtag Three"
    "Go ahead Dogtag Three"
    "Sir, will we still get a little camel painted on our fuselage?
    "Dogtag Three I'll Have to clear that with Waco, over"
    "Roger that sir"

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  15. If I was on of those "Ma & Pa" gas stations that stock Citgo it'd be time to find a new supplier

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  16. An attempt to reframe the debate.
    It is not about the War on Terror, it's the "management" of the War.

    While this battle rages in Washington, it does not appear on Phoenix local TV.

    War is not a topic in the Senate race. Mr Bush is, as is Mr Kyl's support of the Bush Agenda and Congressional pay raises. But no mention of the War.

    Mr Kyl counters with Immigration and announce that because Mr Pederson supported the '86 "reform" that he favors "amnesty". But no mention of the War.

    Here in AZ, from the Senate Campaign, you'd not know there was a War.

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  17. BERLIN (Reuters) - German politicians condemned on Tuesday a decision by a Berlin opera house to cancel performances of Mozart's "Idomeneo" over concerns they could enrage Muslims and pose a security risk.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The Deutsche Oper in west Berlin announced on Monday it was replacing four performances of "Idomeneo" scheduled for November with "The Marriage of Figaro" and "La Traviata."

    The decision was taken after Berlin security officials warned that putting on the opera as planned would present an "incalculable security risk" for the establishment.

    In the production, directed by Hans Neuenfels, King Idomeneo is shown staggering on stage next to the severed heads of Buddha, Jesus, Poseidon and the Prophet Mohammad, which sit on chairs.

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  18. Earlier today at the White House the President announce a need fro a larger Army
    In a press release the President stated that anybody who ever wanted to kill would be allowed in the Armed Services.
    So far three thousand culinery school graduates have signed up for poultry killing and basic chow hall training. The Army said they were severly behind quota in pastry chefs and have enlisted the aid of the Pillsbury Doughboy in their recruiting efforts. They have rising expectations.

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  19. ....meanwhile back at the base "O" Club...

    "Hey Dogtag Three, why the long face?
    " Oh you rotor guys wouldn't understand"
    "Listen here Three, ole Duster is all ears. Lemme buy you another round. Barkeep, two rootbers and keep 'em com'in"

    "Well it's like this Duster, I wanna another camel on my fuselage and Waco won't approve it"
    "Waco again huh?
    "yeah Waco"
    "Did he authorize anything,Three?"
    "Yeah"
    "Well, give it up"
    " He authorized a camel turd, looks like a tasty freeze"
    "Well that's the shits"
    "Yeah, said we didn't finish the mission"
    "Three, just let it go, a turds better than nuth'in"
    "Hey thanks Duster, I feel relieved already"

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  20. It is a truism that a bridge spike cannot be driven with a glazer's hammer nor can a nail of any size be driven without the will to use a hammer.

    The US, for a host of reasons having absolutely nothing to do with either Iraq or Afghanistan, needs a larger hammer.

    The US administration needs the will to use a hammer.

    Getting a larger hammer can be done readily enough.

    How one instills the will to use a hammer is a different matter.

    In the event, these two ideas are not mutually exclusive as some apparently believe.

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  21. Whit,
    If we started giving out jail time to the leakers in DC we'd have to enlarge Club Fed threefold.

    If Burger didn't get jail ain't nobody gett'in jail .... except US Marines on a perilous patrol who smoked some locals and are now facing hard rock city or death.

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  22. Allen,

    Too, too, true.

    Even a hard dude like Waco can't pull the trigger sometimes.

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  23. Crack that whip
    Give the past the slip
    Step on a crack
    Break your mommas back
    When a problem comes along
    You must whip it
    Before the cream sits out too long
    You must whip it
    When somethings going wrong
    You must whip it

    Now whip it
    Into shape
    Shape it up
    Get straight
    Go forward
    Move ahead
    Try to detect it
    Its not too late
    To whip it
    Whip it good

    When a good time turns around
    You must whip it
    You will never live it down
    Unless you whip it
    No one gets away
    Until they whip it

    I say whip it
    Whip it good
    I say whip it
    Whip it good

    Crack that whip
    Give the past the slip
    Step on a crack
    Break your mommas back
    When a problem comes along
    You must whip it
    Before the cream sits out too long
    You must whip it
    When somethings going wrong
    You must whip it

    Now whip it
    Into shape
    Shape it up
    Get straight
    Go forward
    Move ahead
    Try to detect it
    Its not too late
    To whip it
    Into shape
    Shape it up
    Get straight
    Go forward
    Move ahead
    Try to detect it
    Its not too late
    To whip it
    Whip it good

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  24. Habu, You never cease to amazzzze me with your breadth of talent.

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  25. ...Back at the "O" Club

    "gosh Duster these rootbeers are giv'in me gas"

    " not to worry Three, irrespective of the diet, loosing some 12 to 40 'winds' (that is, 0.5 to 2.0 litres of gas) per day is normal, and concerns should only be raised if these numbers are significantly exceeded"
    "very Clavinesque Duster"

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  26. 2164...Whip It just seemed to fit our ME situation. Just WHIP IT, WHIP IT GOOD.

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  27. ...meanwhile...

    "Hey Duster, Duster, hey"
    "oh sorry Three I was won'drin"
    "'bout what man?"
    " where all the talk went"
    "what talk?"
    " blog talk, it's like a black hole dun swaller'd 'em up"
    "naw man they be back"
    "say can I get a ride ova to the bisquit"
    "sure"

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  28. NP, 2164 - thanks for having me.

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