Thursday, August 03, 2006
On Rumsfeld and Counterinsurgency
I believe that Donald Rumsfeld hurts America, that his incompetence and arrogance in dealing with the wars we face has made us both less safe and far less respected in a world whose help we will need, and that the incalculable damage he has done will take decades to repair. because of these beliefs, I am inclined to agree with the gist of this post over at The Plank. I am most interested, however, in getting Tom's view, if he can take the time, on Spencer Ackerman's assertions regarding counterinsurgency, since Dr. Bruscino has been focusing heavily on this exact topic since making his move to Kansas.
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2 comments:
Abhinav --
As you say, your numbers are pretty standard in the literature and according to people I have spoken to. I think that some of the issues might be matters of definition -- what is an insurgency, when do conditions reach civil war, and so on. I have reached the point where I would not trust Rumsfeld if he walked up to me and said "My name is Donald Rumsfeld."
This is where the administration would be screwed if somehow the anti-war types were to choose to be silent for six months. Because then all of their labels("cut and run") woul;d end up in their faces. The administration needs its critics now and would not know what to do without them. The fact that the critics, especially the reasonable ones who speak from the center or from within military and intelligence circles, have been right so often wehere the administration has been wrong does not matter from their side of the looking glass.
dcat
dcat
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