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« Appeal for More Hype | Main | Meanwhile, Back in Iraq »

April 28, 2007

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Get ready for "failure day"

By Greyhawk

"News" from the New York Times:

The White House Scales Back Talk of Iraq Progress

WASHINGTON, April 27 — The Bush administration will not try to assess whether the troop increase in Iraq is producing signs of political progress or greater security until September, and many of Mr. Bush’s top advisers now anticipate that any gains by then will be limited, according to senior administration officials.

Now I looked, but I can't find any news there.

But then again, I was paying attention in the early days of the surge. (January, within days of the announcement.) Back then reporters wanted to know from (then-MNF-I commander) General Casey exactly when they could call the operation a failure. Short version:

"What's your thinking about how long these additional troops will need to stay here?"

"It will be late summer before we see some results to cause us to make decisions."

But the headlines the next day read: "General: Some Troops Heading To Iraq Could Be Home In Months"

In reality (if not in the "reality based community") in spite of the passage of time Casey's comments are consistent with General Petraeus' this week:

Q: ...And secondly, your recommendations in September, are you willing to countenance the idea that you may have to say to the president, this is not working, we should pull troops out, or are you more likely to say things are not going well, here are the adjustments and strategies we need to make?

GEN. PETRAEUS: Well, on the latter one, I mean, I have an obligation to some wonderful young men and women in uniform, and a lot of civilians, by the way, who are serving in Iraq and who deserve a forthright assessment from the folks at the top about the situation on the ground, and that's what I'm going to provide.

So there's no news in that "late summer bit". (And note there's been no promise by either man of victory by that date. That will change in the September news - just watch.)

2008?

Back in March, unnamed "military officials" leaked this story...

The day-to-day commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened U.S. troop levels in Iraq be extended through February 2008, military officials said.
<...>
Military officials said Wednesday that Odierno had provided his assessment to his superior, General David Petraeus, who took over as the top commander in Iraq earlier this year.
... to the New York Times.

Who in today's "news" claim:

In interviews over the past week, the officials made clear that the White House is gradually scaling back its expectations for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The timelines they are now discussing suggest that the White House may maintain the increased numbers of American troops in Iraq well into next year.
But I guess New York Times reporters don't read the New York Times.

What we'll get in September will be another candid assessment from General Petraeus (it will be ignored or distorted - as this week's was) of progress of an ongoing process - along with recommendations on how to go forward from there. To predict more would be folly. But I do predict "some" will claim anything less than a declaration of "total victory" (and that declaration won't happen) is defeat.

As noted, reporters want a "date certain" they can declare failure, and will gleefully do so once that assessment date arrives. By pretending they are "news" (or an "extension") each time such dates are noted will ensure maximum attention, and ignoring what is really said will enable the media to pretend they said something completely different when the time comes. Amazing what you can accomplish by flat out lying about what people say and when they say it.

But it's not surprising that the Ignoratti believe what they're told. (More here.)


Posted by Greyhawk / April 28, 2007 6:51 PM | Permalink

7 Comments

Chuchill said, "Hold firm, Hold Firm and sooner or later these Black hearted men will make a mistake and we'll have them."

We might have to include some Democrats in that one.

US Officer Corps Fighting Wars That Will Never Occur (Again), While Losing Those That Actually Do.

I happened across this article recently and since the 'foundation' of it pretty much mirrors my thoughts on the subject, I thought that I would post it here for any interested. It is not precisely on topic but is fairly close. I imagine that it is 'controversial',but if Iraq does end up badly, I hope that someone(s) AT THE TOP pays a price for the failure. If I were Bush I would,in fact, be head-hunting as we speak.

Frankly and I realise that this is simplistic but I can't get my head around the concept that a Nation can spend $419 BILLION on Defense and be where the US is at this moment in time. I join Lieutenant Colonel Yingling in saying that things must change. SOON.

Well I guess if I had read DOWN a bit, I could have saved everyone some time here. Now I am in the regrettable position of having to go 'hunting for my own head'.

Geez !!!

ps-- Still agree with the Colonel however. Perhaps his 'specifics' are questionable but based upon the 'results in evidence', his overall 'foundation' looks fairly indisputable. And that's a real shame and could end up as a real tragedy if things unravel completely.

Unless we simply buy into the concept that it is all inshallah someone(s) has to walk the plank, and the system needs to be 'corrected'. It is not getting the results we expect,and more importantly it is not getting the results we NEED.

THe should just order the pull out from now!

I would Second,my dear Mr. Churchill...Hold to Good even if you hold all alone.

Thank you all for the E-ffort;this one has awoke...late,but I will remain awake,despite the view.

Illigitimati non carborunDUMB-apology to Vinegar Joe

Stay Strong,some of us do KNOW the difference,and will not be deluded by talk,we remain with Walk.

Between now and September the Democrats will force the Republicans to continually go on record as supporting the war.
Supporting the war will cost many Republicans thir seats in Congress.

Well, the media declared V-E day, then they declared V-J day; now in September they'll declare D-I day--all based on distortions.

No wonder I don't trust the MSM.

Sigh.

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November 26, 2010


America@war
[Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit.

That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary.

From their about page:

The Naval Institute shall remain

INDEPENDENT - A non-profit member association, with no government support, that does not lobby for special interests;

NON-PARTISAN - An independent, professional military association with a mission, goals and objectives that transcend political affiliations; and shall encourage

IDEAS - Through its respected journals Proceedings and Naval History, its conferences, its books and its online content, in support of those who serve.

"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation:

The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism.

Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented.

I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are.

"Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result.

Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web...

And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed.

The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down.

*****

But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:

Closing Blogs is nothing new. So many site's owners just give up on their own. They come and go, you know, these MilBloggers do. Like any other sort of blogger. Many post in the lonely down hours far from home, spill their guts for the world, then abandon their spots when the tour of duty is up. They have lives again somewhere in the world, and no need to share the details. So it goes.

Many are truly gone - no site left at all. "The page cannot be found." Other blogs remain, like abandoned defensive positions in shifting desert sands.

Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down.

If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real.

And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale.

We've already made history, it's time to save it.

(More to follow...)




Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
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  • Jim Shawley: Well, the media declared V-E day, then they declared V-J read more
  • JohnRyan: Between now and September the Democrats will force the Republicans read more
  • Lynx: I would Second,my dear Mr. Churchill...Hold to Good even if read more
  • jamal: THe should just order the pull out from now! read more
  • dougf: Well I guess if I had read DOWN a bit, read more
  • dougf: US Officer Corps Fighting Wars That Will Never Occur (Again), read more
  • HARRY MAYNARD: Chuchill said, "Hold firm, Hold Firm and sooner or later read more

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The Mudville Gazette is written and produced by Greyhawk, who recently retired from 24 years of active duty in the US military, but will maintain this disclaimer: Unless otherwise credited, the opinions expressed are those of the author, and nothing here is to be taken as representing the official position of or endorsement by the United States Department of Defense or any of its subordinate components.

Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house.

I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email.

Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed.

Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com

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*****

Tending Distant
Fires


Far from hearth and home, watching
Cold alone but not alone
On distant shore and only wanting
Safe return and little more

What tales we'll tell
When that time comes
When tales can be told

When things grim
Seem far away
When other fires go cold

Some distant sunset, vision fading
Memories remain
And tired eyes gaze 'pon folded flags
While distant drums beat their refrain

Saluting fallen friends whose names
And youth will never fade
Here's to those on other shores,
for them live well, the price is paid

- Greyhawk,
Baghdad,
December 2004