Monday, March 12, 2007

THIS WAR IS DIFFERENT

The enemy [ i.e. terrorists in Iraq] clearly has no conscience, and they possess no concept of losing this war, display total disregard for the Geneva Conventions, and use every effort to maim and kill as many people as possible. ...

During the initial phase, Operation Iraqi Freedom, there was total focus on destruction of the Regime of Saddam Hussein. ... We were determined to beat the enemy. ... We must return to this mindset. While discarding all rules of engagement would be harmful, it is time that the U.S. military focus on winning, place a hiatus on nation building. ... It is time for the U.S. to use deception and aggression to fight an enemy that has no regard for the sanctity of human life. ...

In the 21st century, we should be reminded that there will never be another war like the American Revolution. The enemy will not wear red and stand in straight lines. The enemy lurks in every building, in the marketplace, in the schools, and behind women and children. If we don't learn to fight this kind of war, our loss in Iraq will only be the first. The global War on Terror requires that we alter this equation and calculate a new solution to win.

-- Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, townhall.com, 2/19/2007

1 comment:

Eric the Half-bee said...

"The enemy will not wear red and sand in straight lines. The enemy lurks in every building, in the marketplace, in the schools, and behind women and children. If we don't learn to fight this kind of war, our loss in Iraq will only be the first."

Actually, Kirt, the reason we won the American Revolution in the first place was our own disregard for gentlemanly conduct on the battlefield. Minutement hid behind trees and boulders, picking off one or two redcoats at a time.

The enemy we face shows the same disregard for our gentlemanly battlefield conduct (i.e. constraining ROE), and they don't even subscribe to the Geneva Conventions. They take advantage of our unwillingness to be as barbaric as the situation demands, and you can't handle an enemy like that with kid gloves.