(01-21-2009 03:34 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  Exactly! We won the war, but have been losing the peace.

And this was such an enormous strategic error, such an obvious omission (not having a ready transition/peace plan in place), by some really smart people, that it fuels my curiosity that there may be something we don't know about.

Or, it may have been a big blunder.

Presumably, time will tell.

Just harken back to Viet Nam and see where their minds are on this end of the spectrum.

They begged and moaned for more and more and more ground troops in Southeast Asia and they got them - - - they promised swift victory if we just had 100,000 more ground troops here and 50,000 over there - - - they made up plans and lied about body counts so as to fool Congress and the President too get their Troop Numbers where they wanted them ....

AND Then - - we Won all the Battles, but Lost the War ....

Let me rephrase that last sentence - - the "Politicians Lost the War for Us, We Won All the Battles". No Viet Vet need have any shame over what was done in Congress and the Oval Office .... the War Was Won Battle-by-Battle .... not simply because Saigon Fell ....

So with that idea in place .... the Present Day Gang are scared to death of pulling another Nam - - I always feel we should go in with every thing and every one we have once we commit and get it over with .... so this bit-and-piece deployment strategy is just frekkin throw'd off for me.

Why do you hold back Troops when all that is going to do is endanger the ones having to be there and prolong the conflict ?? I have never understood it, but realize they are appeasing the protesters by doing it this way.

What a pure shame.

.

I think Rangel wants to conscript those black youngsters that have grown up in single family homes, to mandatory military service. Since 75% of black men father children and do not stick around to raise them, Rangel wants to make sure there is a place for them in the military when they turn 18. He figures that the US will have to house them either in prison or in the military, anyway, so why not. Of course he can't single out blacks so it's for everyone. black power baby.