Thursday, March 29, 2007
Link - Zumbo's discharge - Winning in Iraq
I should probably add this guy http://bubbleheads.blogspot.com/ to my links. He doesn't claim to write well, but he enjoys good writing and quotes/links to some.
On other matters, I see Zumbo has eaten his words, claiming ignorance and new found wisdom. Of course, he could have educated himself before he shot his blog off and wounded (mortally, perhaps) his career. I find no excuse for his unsafe discharge and will therefore be slow to hearken to his cries for forgiveness. I hope his sponsors are equally slow; every marksman knows that you can't unfire the shot that has left the barrel.
On the Iraq War, Arthur Herman writes here http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009862: That if gains are being made in winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, the hearts and minds of Congress are all but lost. He notes: "The roots of failure in fighting insurgencies like the one in Iraq are not military. To the contrary, Western militaries have shown remarkable skill in learning and relearning the crucial lessons of how to prevail against unconventional foes, and tremendous bravery in fighting difficult and unfamiliar battles. If Iraq fails, the cause will have to be sought elsewhere."
Herman uses David Galula's book "Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice," drawing lessons from the French experience in Algeria where "the key to success lay in bringing to the surface the portion of the populace that hated the guerrillas, and then turning that minority into a majority by a combination of political, social and cultural initiatives."
Galula broke the matter into three parts, which Herman say are applicable to Iraq today:
1. Concentration of Force to gradually win over areas to the cause -- block by block.
2. A visible and continuous military presence to build civil institutions, support and trust--punishing insurgents on the spot and visibly rewarding allies.
3. Projecting a sense of inevitable victory.
Herman reports that Gen. Petraeus is implementing these three strategies in Iraq. My concern is something that even the most historically challenged know -- the French pulled out of Algeria. Herman answers that concern with details about the history (a striking parallel with the situation in Iraq): The military had all but won the war in Algeria but De Gaule believed that he had to cut and run. "What happened was this: while the French military had been concentrating on fighting the insurgency in the streets and mountains in Algeria, an intellectual and cultural insurgency at home, led by the French left and the media, had been scoring its own succession of victories. " The opposition at home call the French leaders and soldiers "Nazis" -- sounds kind of familiar --blaming all the violence on the French (an irony in todays climate) so that the politicians ran scared, leaving Algeria "to a totalitarian band that had lost the war on the battlefield but managed to win a stunning victory in France itself. The result was the massive flight of Algerian whites and, at home, a bloodbath as FLN terrorists put to death tens of thousands of Muslim Algerians who had been loyal to the French regime. Soldiers who had fought alongside the French were forced to swallow their medals before they were shot."
Herman goes on -- this is a must read article.
On other matters, I see Zumbo has eaten his words, claiming ignorance and new found wisdom. Of course, he could have educated himself before he shot his blog off and wounded (mortally, perhaps) his career. I find no excuse for his unsafe discharge and will therefore be slow to hearken to his cries for forgiveness. I hope his sponsors are equally slow; every marksman knows that you can't unfire the shot that has left the barrel.
On the Iraq War, Arthur Herman writes here http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009862: That if gains are being made in winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis, the hearts and minds of Congress are all but lost. He notes: "The roots of failure in fighting insurgencies like the one in Iraq are not military. To the contrary, Western militaries have shown remarkable skill in learning and relearning the crucial lessons of how to prevail against unconventional foes, and tremendous bravery in fighting difficult and unfamiliar battles. If Iraq fails, the cause will have to be sought elsewhere."
Herman uses David Galula's book "Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice," drawing lessons from the French experience in Algeria where "the key to success lay in bringing to the surface the portion of the populace that hated the guerrillas, and then turning that minority into a majority by a combination of political, social and cultural initiatives."
Galula broke the matter into three parts, which Herman say are applicable to Iraq today:
1. Concentration of Force to gradually win over areas to the cause -- block by block.
2. A visible and continuous military presence to build civil institutions, support and trust--punishing insurgents on the spot and visibly rewarding allies.
3. Projecting a sense of inevitable victory.
Herman reports that Gen. Petraeus is implementing these three strategies in Iraq. My concern is something that even the most historically challenged know -- the French pulled out of Algeria. Herman answers that concern with details about the history (a striking parallel with the situation in Iraq): The military had all but won the war in Algeria but De Gaule believed that he had to cut and run. "What happened was this: while the French military had been concentrating on fighting the insurgency in the streets and mountains in Algeria, an intellectual and cultural insurgency at home, led by the French left and the media, had been scoring its own succession of victories. " The opposition at home call the French leaders and soldiers "Nazis" -- sounds kind of familiar --blaming all the violence on the French (an irony in todays climate) so that the politicians ran scared, leaving Algeria "to a totalitarian band that had lost the war on the battlefield but managed to win a stunning victory in France itself. The result was the massive flight of Algerian whites and, at home, a bloodbath as FLN terrorists put to death tens of thousands of Muslim Algerians who had been loyal to the French regime. Soldiers who had fought alongside the French were forced to swallow their medals before they were shot."
Herman goes on -- this is a must read article.
// posted by Zerin Hood @ 7:05 PM 
