April 24, 2007
WE JUST HAVE TO LET THEM BE US:
A ruthless foe (Michael O'Hanlon, April 24, 2007, Washington Times)
In its 230 years of independence, the United States has faced a wide range of military opponents. We started of course with the British; the North fought the slave-holding South in the Civil War; we fought native Americans as well as the Mexicans and Spanish during other parts of the 19th century; we opposed Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany in World War I and Adolf Hitler as well as the Japanese in World War II; during the Cold War we waged war against North Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese communists.
Against this historical backdrop, two facts stand out about our collection of enemies in Iraq, with a particular focus on the ex-Ba'athists and the terrorists who produced the bulk of the violence over the conflict's first three years. First, they are a small group relative to the population within which they are found. And second, even by the standards of our nation's past enemies, they are a despicable lot. [...]Admittedly, guerrilla movements are often relatively small, but Iraq's insurgency has been particularly so. Its al Qaeda element, responsible for most of the suicide attacks such as those that terrorized Baghdad April 18, has been downright tiny.
As for the character of our enemies, they have been unusually ruthless and nihilistic. This is not meant as a trite, nationalistic but a comparative comment. Looking back historically, at least some of our enemies can be respected, albeit begrudgingly.
The proper comparison would seem to obviously be the Indian population which chose not to submit to democratic rule, for which we exterminated and resettled them. Iraq's Shi'a will have to do the same to recalcitrant Sunni until they bow to the inevitable Posted by Orrin Judd at April 24, 2007 6:57 PM
We've fought with many men across the seas,
And some of 'em was brave, and some was not,
Kipling,Fuzzy Wuzzy
Some of our enemies had more military virtue than others, and some of the bravest and most skillful had been criminals.
Those we face in the course of our unfinished business with the spiritual jailhouse have the dubious distinction of lacking valor while at the same time defying law and morality. We cannot grant them even grudging respect.
They hide behind protected persons and places, they perfidiously misuse signs and symbols, they fight treacherously, in civilian clothes, they kill helpless prisoners and indiscriminately attack non-combatants. They are critters, bugs to be squashed.
Posted by: Lou Gots at April 25, 2007 4:18 AMAs long as they leave the tea alone.
Posted by: oj at April 25, 2007 7:35 AMIn the beginning we never brought the war to the Sunni because Turkey switched its priorities. In hindsight we should have redirected the 4th Division through Kuwait and thrust up west of Bagdhad to provide the Sunni with more than their share of shock and awe.
Now is the time to move the surge to the Anwar Province and let the Shiite clean up Bagdahd, as they seem to want to do, in their own way.
The Sunni must face the finality of defeat. Sherman said, paraphrased: War is cruel and the crueler it is fought the sooner it will be over and fewer will die.
"The South never recovered from the capture of Savannah, but just to be sure, Sherman began another march, this time from Georgia through South Carolina. In February 1865, after burning several cities to the ground, something he did not do in Georgia, Sherman reached Columbia, the capital of South Carolina and the cradle of the rebellion. By nightfall the entire city was in flames and would soon be burned to the ground. On the heels of Sherman's destructive onslaughts, the Confederacy officially conceded victory to the Union on April 9, 1865.
While viewed as a hero in the North and as a villain in the South, Sherman's military effectiveness is unquestionable." (Sherman's March, History Channel).
Posted by: Genecis at April 25, 2007 8:26 AMSomehow I doubt the main reason that many Indians resisted the cavalry was because they objected to the Constitution.
But, your point is correct - the quickest way to end the "insurgency" is to tell the Sunni leaders that they can either purge all terrorists, or we will purge all Sunni. So far, that seems to be one of the objectives.
Posted by: jim hamlen at April 26, 2007 7:05 AMIt's exactly why. They opposed our culture. No one need tolerate such in their midst.
Posted by: oj at April 26, 2007 8:09 AM