A bad rap for Gen. McCaffrey......
The gloating and "We told you so's" about the outcome of the effort in Iraq have already started. The pro-war BlogWorld [count me one] and some TeeVee news spots have zeroed in on anti-war groups, weasel countries, leftists and assorted naysayers of the principals and plans of the war. Many of these are dead on and the recepients are deserving of the reminders of how out of touch with reality they were. There were no mass floods of starving refugees, no hundred's of thousands of civilian casualties, no bombed baby hospitals, and mercifully our coalition casualties have been relatively light. And it appears now that the average Iraqi was indeed glad to see our military forces oust their tyrannt.
However, when I read these lists of the lame, it disturbs me to see the name of Gen. Barry McCaffrey listed with the Peter Arnett's, the human shields and the Not in My Name crowd as deserving of an "I told you so". Gen. McCaffrey is one of the nations most respected war fighters, a leader who led the 24th Division through the desert in Gulf War I, this after decades of good and true service. McCaffrey's name is brought up because he questioned, not the outcome of the war or it's purpose, but the military details in the plan of it's execution.
What needs to be said is that there were many professionals in the military who questioned the structure of the operation and the size of the force, and not just in the retired General Officer corps, but many of the same people who are at this very moment carrying out the plan. I have this on good authority from senior men and women I know who are wearing the uniform today and from correspondents who were covering the military before it became fashionable in the last several months. They questioned the plan not because they were negative defeatists or complainers, but because it is their job to make sure that our military does triumph. And to triumph on the battlefield one does not leave things to wishful thinking, to luck or to assumption, which is the feeling some of us had about the Iraqi war plan. Had the active duty questioners of the plan spoken up....yes they would have been out of line. Not so the retired officers who had a genuine concern and I think felt an obligation to lay the facts out as they saw them. Our military training says to use overwhelming force when you have it, not just enough to get by if all the assumptions work in our favor.
The last of the Vietnam era soldiery is leading the war in Iraq, and those of us of that period remember another self confident, don't question my plan Secretary of Defense named McNamara, a guy who had all the facts and data figured out. Everything but the most important. An enemy who didn't fight the way he had planned and who didn't give up even when slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Don't worry he said, the data is on our side, we have a plan.
I'm sure that Gen. McCaffrey will be the first to say that he is glad to see some of his estimates and worries did not come true.....yet. But for one, I'm glad we have this type of honesty at the highest level of the military. Or perhaps you would rather take the overly optimistic word of the paid "expert" ex-army captain with eight years service on Fox News? I'd rather have Gen. McCaffrey's opinion, thank you, and be glad luck was with us this time.
The gloating and "We told you so's" about the outcome of the effort in Iraq have already started. The pro-war BlogWorld [count me one] and some TeeVee news spots have zeroed in on anti-war groups, weasel countries, leftists and assorted naysayers of the principals and plans of the war. Many of these are dead on and the recepients are deserving of the reminders of how out of touch with reality they were. There were no mass floods of starving refugees, no hundred's of thousands of civilian casualties, no bombed baby hospitals, and mercifully our coalition casualties have been relatively light. And it appears now that the average Iraqi was indeed glad to see our military forces oust their tyrannt.
However, when I read these lists of the lame, it disturbs me to see the name of Gen. Barry McCaffrey listed with the Peter Arnett's, the human shields and the Not in My Name crowd as deserving of an "I told you so". Gen. McCaffrey is one of the nations most respected war fighters, a leader who led the 24th Division through the desert in Gulf War I, this after decades of good and true service. McCaffrey's name is brought up because he questioned, not the outcome of the war or it's purpose, but the military details in the plan of it's execution.
What needs to be said is that there were many professionals in the military who questioned the structure of the operation and the size of the force, and not just in the retired General Officer corps, but many of the same people who are at this very moment carrying out the plan. I have this on good authority from senior men and women I know who are wearing the uniform today and from correspondents who were covering the military before it became fashionable in the last several months. They questioned the plan not because they were negative defeatists or complainers, but because it is their job to make sure that our military does triumph. And to triumph on the battlefield one does not leave things to wishful thinking, to luck or to assumption, which is the feeling some of us had about the Iraqi war plan. Had the active duty questioners of the plan spoken up....yes they would have been out of line. Not so the retired officers who had a genuine concern and I think felt an obligation to lay the facts out as they saw them. Our military training says to use overwhelming force when you have it, not just enough to get by if all the assumptions work in our favor.
The last of the Vietnam era soldiery is leading the war in Iraq, and those of us of that period remember another self confident, don't question my plan Secretary of Defense named McNamara, a guy who had all the facts and data figured out. Everything but the most important. An enemy who didn't fight the way he had planned and who didn't give up even when slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Don't worry he said, the data is on our side, we have a plan.
I'm sure that Gen. McCaffrey will be the first to say that he is glad to see some of his estimates and worries did not come true.....yet. But for one, I'm glad we have this type of honesty at the highest level of the military. Or perhaps you would rather take the overly optimistic word of the paid "expert" ex-army captain with eight years service on Fox News? I'd rather have Gen. McCaffrey's opinion, thank you, and be glad luck was with us this time.
