The real way to win a War

[rpannier]

American history (and world history) shows that to win a war you must:
1)Fight it like you could lose it -- WWI and WWII are good examples of that. We threw ourselves heart-and-soul into those Wars, especially WWII. Examples of defying this principle, Viet-Nam and the beginning of the Civil War. In the first battle of the Civil War, the Union officers brought their families and many Union Gov't officials went along to have a picnic and watch the Union mop up the rebel army. The Union lost that battle and many of those officials were nearly captured.

2)Level with the Public and Make Sure they Understand What is at Stake: Good example Roosevelt and WWII. Roosevelt laid out why we were fighting and what was at stake in that War. This fiasco is an example of how not to do it. They lied, they changed focus, etc. They didn't respect the public and it's now starting to catch up with them.

3)Prepare for after the War. The Marshall Plan is a good example. This fiasco is an example of not being prepared.

4) Never overstay your welcome. Get the job done and get out. Again WWI and WWII good examples. The British after the French and Indian Wars is an example of overstaying your welcome.

5)Listen to the Commanders in the field. We didn't use enough men at the beginning, even though many field Unit Commanders complained of having to few men to effectively win the War (they were thinking long term). The public was fed constant video of us moving quickly up the road to Baghdad. The public saw the statue of Hussein being toppled and men beating pictures of Hussein with their shoes on Faux news. In the end, the public was lead to believe we had everything under control. That scrubbo and faux were right and the Commanders in the field were wrong.

[LynnTheDem]

1. We're not in any wars right now.

The world's first & only hyper-power attacking, invading and bombing the fucking crap out of one of the weakest most defenseless nations on the planet who hadn't been doing anything to anyone for years ain't exactly a "war".

[rpannier]

2. Ask someone who lived in Baghdad

During the shock and awe. Ask them if it was a War.

[LynnTheDem]

4. No it isn't a war; war takes TWO.

What the US did and is doing is a SLAUGHTER.

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Yup

The US army is not fighting a war in Iraq
It is occupying Iraq holding on to their conquest.

[teryang]

5. War is fought in a geo-political context

The reason the Viet Nam war was not an "all out" conflict was because international relationships with China and Russia (and consequently the rest of the known world) did not permit it.

Limited to conventional means of attack in restricted areas, limited by Russia and Chinese strategic interests, the war confronted us with an experienced, well armed and led enemy, supported from abroad, committed to their cause, with a more favorable relationship to the social and political realities of the day both domestically and internationally. Victory was impossible regardless of the level of forces brought to bear, unless one was prepared to expand the conflict to the sea lanes and involve Russian armed forces directly.

By the way, the overarching principle of foreign policy of the day was that one does not risk direct engagement with Russian armed forces. The prudence of this principle was never questioned.

Similarly, today there is the same principle with regard to China in its immediate environs, particularly Taiwan and Korea.

The notion that outcomes of wars could have been different, only if we had done more, fall into the category of wishful and unrealistic thinking.

[YankeeFan]

6. Assorted Notes.

World War II and Point Number 4. The American Occupation of Japan didn’t end until 1954 or 1955.
Our Occupation of Germany lasted about the same.
And our Occupation of Berlin really didn’t end until the Berlin Wall fell.

In Dessert Storm, if I may be permitted to play Devil's Advocate, The Elder Bush did what was supposed to be done. From Point 1 through 5 he did everything you said what should be done. The only problem was that Saddam didn't believe he lost the war.
President Clinton had to suffer bad publicity because of air strikes hitting civilians. How many of us Democrats can recall reading about bombs filled with concrete instead of explosives?
It was a rare Democrat who didn't curse Hussein for one reason or another.

Junior Bush and Iraq. You sure hit the nail on the head with Numbers 3 and 5. Many Iraqis cheered Hussein's fall. But a few weeks ago Hussein, Tony Blair and Junior Bush were burned in effigy.
If Junior Bush has a plan for post war Iraq I sure don't know what it is.

Iraqis must be getting tired of being caught in the middle of fire fights.