Vets angry at al Qaeda gains in Iraq
The Washington Post’s Ernesto Londoño writes today “U.S. veterans despondent over al-Qaeda’s resurgence in Iraq“, of course this a “d’uh” moment;
The Iraq war may have never been declared lost. But the stunning surge in violence over the past year — and the return of al-Qaeda in the western province of Anbar this month — is forcing Americans who invested personally in the war’s success to grapple with haunting questions.
“Could someone smart convince me that the black flag of al-Qaeda flying over Fallujah isn’t analogous to the fall of Saigon?” former Army captain Matt Gallagher asked on Twitter. “Because. Well.”
It’s not like it couldn’t have been predicted. We declared the war ended in Vietnam a scant two years before Communist tanks rolled into Saigon. But, hey, the Left wanted to feel good about themselves and unilaterally declare the Iraq War over…well, the war didn’t really end, we just aren’t there anymore, like we weren’t on the field of battle in Vietnam. Our troops being withdrawn from Iraq became a successful campaign slogan, while violence continued in Iraq.
The same thing will happen in Afghanistan, and it didn’t have to end that way. This administration’s sole strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan was withdrawal – not victory, and so, this is what we get. And, while this administration withdraws from the wars they inherited, they’re starting more conflicts with involvement in Africa, and Syria. They want to negotiate with Iran, which doesn’t have any intention of giving up on their nuclear program. All the while, they’re slashing manpower in the Defense Department and screwing over the people who fought the recent wars, to insure that the all-volunteer military will never work in a time of war again. And Jimmy Carter made sure that the draft will never work again by giving amnesty to draft dodgers after Vietnam.
So here we sit.
Category: Terror War
Saying “I told ya so.” just ain’t particularly satisfying yet once again.
Even BOHICA offers little humor.
Angry? Yup.
Surprised? Not a bit.
Much the same as Vietnam? Yes.
Knew it would happen in Iraq? Absolutely.
Waiting for the same in Afghanistan? Unfortunately.
Not much to add.
And to know my former gunner died in Ramadi in 2005 makes this 100 times worse for me on a personal level.
Can’t imagine the heartache their families are feeling over this.
No surprise. After all, they promised that it would be this way when all the libbies in unison repeated the meme “Just like Viet Nam” before any boots actually touched the ground.
But, as others have already said, their is no comfort in being proven right. Again.
@5 Sad to think our “leaders” would lose the war intentionally just to prove themselves right, but it’s pretty hard to draw any other conclusion from this.
It is that whole self fulfilling prophecy, the president deemed it so before he was elected and made it happen after. Iraq was never the war of “necessity” so it was back out as fast as possible. He has never had the stomach or political will to win in Iraq or Afghanistan. He is ready to back out as soon as it is politically expedient to do so.
It is very personal. There’s sort of an empty, “could we have done more” sort of feeling. I take this very personally. It actually hurts my feelings; personally and professionally. My heart goes to all the soldiers lost, AND the civilians of Diyala, which, gauranteed, is next to fall to AQIZ
May the Lord hold this to Obama’s account, in the Judgement. May all the blood shed, from lives cut short or young bodies maimed, be on his hands and the hands of all who voted for him a second time.
A few folks who actually paid attention to where I was and what I did in Iraq have asked: “How do you feel that they’ve taken Fallujah over?”
My answer: “Well, I don’t really give a shit. Thanks for asking though.”
My mind set when I sort of “volunteered” to go on OIF3 was to keep my troops alive and do what I could to help protect other American troops (this included all the military).
I never got one of my troops hurt or killed and I did help do stuff to help others. So in my mind, I did what I set out to do.
In regards to the people of Iraq…until they do something to help themselves and give a shit about their future, I don’t think it’s worth the effort to worry about them.
My opinion is we had no reason to go there in the first place. (stop, take a fucking breath, now think about it).
WE DID have good reason to go to Afghanistan and by getting distracted in Iraq, we never sent enough resources to Afg in the first years. So that was a major screw up.
I’m not looking at this from a Democrat or Republican point of view- because that just screws stuff up even more. I’m looking at it from the facts.
Ya know, it seems to me that when these things start, everyone is on board. The conservatives say, “but be careful, it will be a long pull”; the liberals say “yeah, yeah, whatever, we want revenge so we are with you forever”. And everyone is one board.
But later the liberal side of the aisle stops seeing the value and they stop supporting the wars. Meanwhile the conservative side of the aisle looks around and sees that the liberals left the party and went to the bar and started drinking. Then they start to accuse the conservatives of starting the whole thing just to make money.
Why does this happen? I have seen it three or four times now and I am really pissed off about it.
Of course, the worst part is that we can see every one of them coming — 1972 in Vietnam, 1991 in Desert Storm, 2006 in Iraq, 2009 in Afghanistan. The patterns are always the same.
I had the pleasure of teaching a young lady named Nicole Fry at the Civil Affairs course in 2003. When I heard that she had died at 19 years of age in February of 2004 in Iraq, all I could say was why? Today, I am still asking the same question.
trapperfrank #12: There it is!
There is a wall in DC. It offers no answers, only names.
I’m an odd duck in this, and expect to get beat about the head and shoulders for saying…
when the dems turned the war into a political game and took sides with the enemy, treason was committed.
When we refused to do our duty as citizens and drag those scumbags out by their noses and deal with them as should be done, we all became equally guilty.
O/T and closer to all our homes:
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/08/epa-overrides-congress-hands-over-town-to-indian-tribes/
If this is true as reported…
@ Richard – Exactly the way I see it, the democratic senators voted in majority and 81 democratic house members voted for the Iraq War Resolution after two years of debate. 29 of 50 democrats in Senate including Ms Clinton, Biden, Kerry, Schummer. Two years later they turned against the war. April 2007, Sen Reid declared, “this war is lost.” Angry? Yes? Much Like Vietnam? Yes
Senate Roll Call: Iraq Resolution – Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/…/senaterollcall_iraq101002.htm
You’re gonna have to spell it out for me, Grimmy. What part of that is supposed to be so objectionable?
@14 It is true. The EPA along with DoI and DoJ, decided to give up 1 million acres of land, including the town of Riverton, WY to the local Indian tribe. Wyoming is fighting it but who knows, we are after all dealing with the Obama administration.
Thanks Obama.
That goes out to all the fucking retards I know continue to make excuses for that Commander in Chief failure.
Over the last half century or so, we have, in effect, conditioned our various enemy to have full faith and confidence that we won’t finish the fight.
To abuse a football analogy…
We’ll take the ball on our own 20. We’ll drive with ease to the enemy’s 10 yard line. Then, we’ll walk off the field and call it done.
Thereafter, the enemy will be allowed to pick up the ball and run up and down the field with their only opposition being the local ground keepers, if they decide to get dead in massive numbers for no possibility of victory.
I was on the FOB as a civilian during the second battle. I assisted over at Bravo Surg with my fellow firefighters (I was a FF/EMT). It was bad then and horrifying now. What a terrible waste.
Oh yeah–Peralta deserves the MOH.
@ trapperfrank- My unit RIP’d out in early 2005 with 3/1 ID- the brigade Specialist Frye’s CA unit was attached to when she was killed- I still remember her photo hanging in the brigade TOC building along with the others who died during their deployment.
I’m glad she’s not forgotten, but I’m with you- the world would no doubt be a better place with her still in it.