Land Ho! We're about to have a shipwreck in Iraq!
Frank Antenori:
Below is my weekly Op-Ed piece for the local political blog I write for here in AZ. It won't be posted until this weekend so you guys get a crack at it first. Let me know what you think.
Frank A
Land Ho! We’re about to have a shipwreck in Iraq!
January 4, 2007
By Frank Antenori
The two year period of command has expired for both General John Abizaid as Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and General William Casey as Commander of Multi-National Forces in Iraq. This is a prime opportunity for the President to pick two replacements that will be able to pull things together and turn around a floundering war effort. Two men that will implement and oversee a rapid change of momentum on the ground by properly utilizing the proposed troop surge of 20,000 Soldiers and Marines
Who will President Bush choose? Maybe a Special Forces General? Maybe a General with extensive experience in unconventional warfare or counter insurgency operations? Maybe a Marine General with some tenacity to take the fight to the enemy? One could only hope that the President and his advisors would see the light and realize that this unconventional war needs some unconventional leaders to fight it.
But just when I thought there might be an opportunity to turn things around in Iraq, the President surprises me and pretty much everyone by putting Navy Admiral William Fallon in command of CENTCOM and essentially in charge of the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Can someone explain to me why they put a guy that spent his life waging war on the seven seas in charge of a war in the desert? This is akin to Franklin Roosevelt putting George S. Patton in charge of the Pacific Fleet just before the battle for Midway! In the words of a close friend of mine from West Virginia: “That just ain’t right.”
Someone in the Republican Party had better find out who the moron is advising the President and drag him off to a dark damp place and knock some sense into him. Better yet, send him somewhere far away so can’t hurt anyone else.
I realize that the five major regional commands are Joint and can be commanded by generals or admirals from any of the services, but that was during peacetime. For crying out loud, we are at war, a ground war. Now is not the time to follow peacetime protocol or petty military politics. We need guys in charge over there that know what the hell they are doing.
Replacing General Casey on the ground in Iraq is General David Petraeus. Patreaus seems like a reasonable choice; after all, he participated in the initial invasion of Iraq as Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. However, the initial invasion of Iraq was a conventional war, not what we now face in Iraq. While I think Patreaus will do a fair job, he is still not equipped nor trained to fight this war the way it needs to be fought. What the American people will see is Déjà vu; just more of the same, because Patraeus comes from the same military mindset mold as Casey.
That translates in to a continued spiral downward of public resolve to fight this war and additional damage to the GOP; something none of us Republicans need after licking our wounds from the November elections.
I have supported President Bush and his efforts to fight radical Islam and deal with looming threats to our country, and I still do. The President is correct to be on the offense and not play defense by waiting for another attack on U.S. soil. But all politics aside, this is personal. It’s not personal because I have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, nor because I lost 16 close buddies in this war and don’t want to see their sacrifices be in vain when the Democrats force us to cut and run, but it’s personal because I have lots of close friends still fighting over there and I want them to come home to their families in one piece. I just don’t get a “warm fuzzy” with a ship driver “learning on the fly” how to fight a dirt war.
Being in the military prevents my fellow Soldiers from dissenting or raising such a question, so I’ll do it for them:
President Bush, with all due respect sir, why didn’t you appoint a Special Forces General or a Marine, why a Navy Admiral? What fuzzy logic did you apply to conclude a man with sea legs is capable of commanding of a dirt war? President Bush, what the hell were you thinking?
Frank Antenori is a retired Special Forces Soldier that saw combat in Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq. He is also the author of “Roughneck Nine-One: The extraordinary story of a Special Forces A-Team at war.”
DragonSoldier:
I dunno.... Maybe as CENTCOM commander, the President thinks Admiral Fallon might be the guy he wants in charge if the Iranians get any more 'sporty', since it's going to be a largely air and sea power issue, rather than a 'dirt war' with them gomers.. CENTCOM is, after all, a lot more real estate than Iraq and Afghanistan..
Personally, I've been 'seeing' a gearing-up for a real **** storm in the entire region... But, it's all above my pay-grade...
shaesdad:
If the President had been a special forces guy himself, maybe this would be obvious. My gut tells me that the longer someone works in the political realm, the more politcal everything becomes. Must have been the Navy's turn. Status quo does not allow clear thinking and logic. My boy is just a Pfc in Sadr City, but I would bet that even at his level, you could find soldiers with some good ideas on how to clean some of this **** up. Ask the NCOs, ask some of the company level COs, ask the colonels. Start from the bottom up to solve this one. The boots on the ground just may have some input that would work here. My son says that yeah, they understand the mission and can see the big picture why we are there, but they sure are forced to do some stupid **** in spite of it.
Frank, you are correct on this one. The folks at the top get insulated by layers and layers of other folks trying to suck enough ass to get to the next position. Folks that go against the grain have a lot harder time hanging around long enough to be heard. So, who do we write to about this? What is the best place to get someone with some influence to listen to these ideas? Too much at stake, as you have stated, for this to continue like it is.
DragonSoldier:
Dunno... Like I said, CENTCOM is a BIG AOR...
burnsk73:
I gotta agree with Frank on this one. I've been arguing with liberals on this same premise concerning Afghanistan when they say we took our eyes off the ball concerning Bin Laden. They were *****ing because we downsized forces in Afghanistan. "My" contention was that I seriously doubt having the 1st ID, 3rd ID, or any other major battle force would have much of an impact on a group that can easily slip between counties and having those main forces cross borders could cause an international incident with a Nuclear Power. It was also my contention that the best force to handle the situation in Afghanistan would be having Frank's guys there to deal with the situation covertly. If they decided they needed more assistance, then that call should be there's to make. The Special Ops guys have ways of crossing in and out of Pakistan unlike, say, the 3rd Bde, 3rd ID. Makes since to me that Iran should be dealt with covertly, at least until they get balsy. If you want to wage war against a country that isn't going to fight unconventionally, why would you install a conventional military leader? Terrorism is unconventional warfare, IMO. 50K suicide bombers is what Ahmedwhatshisnuts states he has.
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