some US military analysts call Iraq "Dead Man Walking"

[donsu]

http://www.juancole.com/

(this is from the second entry on the page)

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Some military analysts apparently are privately calling the Iraq enterprise "Dead Man Walking."

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shouldn't our troops know what they are being called?

please

bring them home now

[tabasco]

1. Some people are telling the truth ...

while republicans blow smoke up our asses. Wes Clark said on MTP there is a 2-1 chance of "catastrophic mission failure" in Iraq. He is not afraid to tell the truth. We have not achieved the support of the Iraqi people and this mssion is doomed.

[jean]

2. Wes Clark is the guy to deal with this catastrophe - he's got the

competency and credibility internationally to dig into the mire and get things moving in the right direction.

[mike_c]

3. that's an easy call....

The mission has already failed. Well, actually I suppose it depends upon what the "mission" is. Democracy in Iraq and an ally in the ME? Failed. Done deal. But if the mission is subjegation and occupation of a hostile populace, then I agree, there's still a chance that we can grind Iraq under our bootheels until we break their resistance. A vanishingly small chance.

[starroute]

4. "Catastrophic" could mean a lot worse than just failure

There was something I saw earlier today -- I think on another thread here -- pointing out the extreme vulnerability of US supply lines in Iraq. Unlike Vietnam, Iraq has no coastline. Everything has to come in via Kuwait and be trucked north through potentially hostile territory.

Equipment is wearing out at an accelerated page, partly because of the extreme heat and sandstorms. Food has been in tight supply at times. Convoys keep coming under attack.

If a growing insurgency cut the supply lines in a major way, US troops could be surrounded and overrun in many areas. It's a very ugly picture and one more reason to get them out safely while we can.