Hackworth: Sack 'Em and Rack 'Em

[struggle4progress]

June 28, 2004

America would be a whole lot safer if the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, was flying for Virgin Airlines, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was competing on "Survivor." Both war leaders have done so miserable a job honchoing the military side of our critical conflict against global terrorism, and in the process so jeopardized our national security, that they should be sacked for dereliction of duty.

Contrary to continuing political spin, Iraq and Afghanistan both are running sores with little promise of even a long-term turnaround, and our world today is far more dangerous than it was before 9/11. Unless there's a 180-degree change in overall strategy, the USA is doomed to follow the same bloody path through these two brutal killing fields that the Soviet Union took in Afghanistan.
<snip>

Top generals like former NATO commander Wes Clark and a squad of retired and active-duty four-stars warned long before the invasion of Iraq: Don't go there. It doesn't involve our national security. It's not the main objective in our war with international terrorism. Even retired four-star Colin Powell said that if we go to Iraq and break the china, we own it. But know-it-all Rumsfeld and go-along-to-get-along Myers totally ignored this sound military advice.
<snip>

Space doesn't allow for the long laundry list of what went wrong after the Iraqi army was predictably defeated by a brilliant "Wham, Bam, Goodbye Saddam" air-and-ground attack and the present occupation phase kicked off. But the key screw-ups are:
Our ground units went in far too light. They didn't have - and still don't have - sufficiently trained numbers and the right force mix to cope with the growing mess on the ground.
There wasn't an effective plan to deal with the looting, rioting and civil disorder or the early insurgent attacks. Army and Marine skippers in Iraq from company to division tried to put out four-alarm fires without sufficient force, equipment and logistics. Crisis management prevailed.
Iraqi police, civil-defense corps, the regular army and border-patrol units - which could have prevented much of the chaos and civil disobedience that followed - were precipitously disbanded.
<snip>
http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourceFileView?file=Hackworth_062804.htm


The site seems rather conservative, but not all are pleased.

[Catch22Dem]

1. I think Hack is a decent guy

I may not always agree with him, but he always speaks his mind. He score big points with me when he penned an article about what a great leader Wes Clark is. This was after he had called Clark a "perfumed Napoleon (or prince)" The freepers siezed on that quote all through the primaries. Nevermind the fact that Hack retracted the statement, and praised Clark after spending some time with him.

By the way, I subscribe to newsletters from Military.com. They're usually pretty good. Their veteran's report is what I look forward to. They have great news for vets.

[struggle4progress]

2. Don't really know but conservatives seem to dominate the op-eds.

[louis c]

3. I guess Hackworth is another traitor

Like Gen. Clark, Gen Senseki, Gen. Schwartzkopf, Gen. Zinni, and so many other decorated and distinguished military men and women, including former Sen. Max Clellend and our Presidential nominee, John Kerry.

Not like those stand up heroes, like AWOL President Shit-Head, Cheney ("I had better things to do") the Chicken-Hawk. And his side-kicks Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.

Give me a break. How can (P)resident Asshole even be in this race?

[Jack Rabbit]

4. Colorful use of language

Shinseki's spot-on troop estimate was discredited and ridiculed by senior Pentagon chicken hawks like Paul Wolfowitz, a man who dodged the draft during Vietnam and wouldn't know a tank from a Toyota.

I posted this on a long thread on the Foreign Affairs Forum (see post 189).

Thanks for sharing.

[teryang]

5. Professional officers vs political officers

The pros saw this quaqmire coming before the invasion. Rumsfeld and Myers both airdales had their heads up their asses.

[FlashHarry]

6. I will always respect Hack for his Ritter apology

see here

He's one of the good guys. Did you hear him on the O'Franken Factor? He was brilliant.

Plus, he's called Rummy an asshole in the past. You gotta like that.

[struggle4progress]

7. The Ritter apology is a nice piece. eom

[Eloriel]

9. I didn't even know about the Ritter apology

But that certainly raises my estimation of him even more. I've liked him from the get-go. Truth Teller, that's why. I too don't agree with him on everything, but he's someone you can count on to stand up for his principles and call a spade a spade -- in fact, now that I've said that I realize that in today's world it's a plus that he HAS principles!! And then stands up for them! Long live Hack!

[HarveyBriggs]

10. McNamara & Rummy ...

Don't they even wear the same style glasses?

These men are two excellent reasons to support abortions -- both of their mothers should have had them.

And if they did, tens of thousands of brave soldiers would not have died.

I wish Rummy would read Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim," through to the end, and emulate the hero all the way to the funeral pyre.

I have family over there. Yeah, you know us traitorous lefties doing the dieing, while the self-rightous righties do the jawing and excuse making and cowering behind their "Patriot" acts. I have a hard time not letting loose a string of profanities when I think about this.

My instincts for forgiveness and understanding die a little bit every time I think that I may never again see loved ones again because they died fighting for people who call them traitors, while sending them over there wrapped in a garbage bag of lies.

The very evil in the radical right's thinking on this issue exceeds by astronomical proportions the wrong-headed support Jane Fonda gave North Vietnam.

Harvey Briggs

[doc03]

8. I love this paragraph on the Clinton military

The mighty sword that Rumsfeld and Myers inherited four years ago - the finest military force in the world - is now chipped and dulled. And the word is that it will take at least a decade to get our overextended, bone-tired soldiers and Marines and their worn-out gear back in shape.