I beg to differ, if you want to look at wonton use of firepower
and killing too many civillians with little results... look at
Gronzy.
And I also need to wonder if we really have any other wars fought
by other armed forces to compare this with. Would the PLA do better
if they decided to "liberate" Taipei? Wonton use of firepower? Is
the USMC sniper and GBU units a less discriminating weapon in
rooting out insurgents then blanket soviet arty? You have been
doped up too much on the media without considering what the grunts
on the ground actually say of their experience my friend.
And politics being hogwash? Your statements on Vietnam and Korea
make we wonder if you have even read into the situtation beyond
riding on the common tagline of "being unable to defeat a peasant
nation". Vietnam especially when the Tet Offensive was a crippling
disaster for the NVA, but yet ultimately a war winner out of the
hands of the grunts. I suggest you reread how Vietnam was really
lost, and why Korea was the way it is now.
Case in point, the first battle of Fallujah (the fierest fighting
in Iraq so far) was nearly won before it was stopped on rationale
that the damage done was too great. In that first battle 150
airstikes were launched and 75 to 100 buildings destroyed. However
when the doomed Fallujah brigade was finally disbanded seven months
later after much political wrangling and it was realized that
stopping the battle had allowed the insurgency to gain strength the
second battle was launched.
This time there were 540 air strikes, 14,000 artillery and mortar
shells fired, as well as 2500 M1 rounds. 18,000 of Fallujah's
39,000 buildings were level or destroyed and the insurgency crushed
in the city. Unfortunately the second battle came at a far higher
cost in lives and damage as the USMC was not allowed to finish a
job they could have easily acomplished (they were within hours of
routing the insurgency in Fallujah during April) had they been
allowed to finish the fight. Instead the board was set which
allowed a fiercer, and more costy battle.
Your views on the Iraq war are simplistic Moca, and I would like to
believe that the average American soldier is as silly as you like
to make it out to be. But the truth is they are also human and
subject to error and heroism entertaining statements that in
general they are not a competent bunch as soldiers go.
I'm afraid as the previous posts from other poster have also
indicated... the hogwash's on you.
I remember that Clancy had one of these hell scenarios where
basically Iran tied up with China or Korea? or India (fictional ,
ok) to open up multiple fronts so that US gets distracted and they
can get the actual objectives without having to show their hand
till the last minute. Of course it is not so easy in real life
(what with mono-dimension characters only in Clancy's world) but a
multiple front situation will truly distabilize most of the global
economic "progress"...
LOL, after Red Storm Rising in Clancy's books always go in one
basic vein: "somebody annoys America, America crushes them". I
doubt he would change that tone soon, I mean have you read SSN,
where ONE 688I pwned the whole PLAN and The Bear and The Dragon? I
rest my case.
But in the real world we are seeing something like this happening
now, the mess in Iraq emboldening many nations to make a bit more
noise. But not sure if full war will actually break out because
each of these nations know to avoid war and let it break out
elsewhere would mean that you are ultimately in a stronger position
in the international stage.
So it's going to be a game of brinksmanship, as we have seen
recently with Iran and NK, which know that the US can't really
follow up with their moves with actual threats.
