Robert Higgs of the Independent Institute on Defense of Your Home Is Not Terrorism, Not Even in Iraq
Bush vows that the continuing attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq will not dissuade him from the “restoration” of the conquered country. He insists that the attackers consist only of hardcore Baathists and “terrorists.” Against these holdouts, the U.S. military commander Lt. Gen. David McKiernan promises to “strike hard and with lethal force” whenever and wherever the opportunity arises to crush the opponents of the U.S. occupation.
Not quite G.W. Some of those who've been involved in these attacks were pissed off civilians who've been mistreated or had family and friends liberated to death by U.S. troops since the war "ended." But Georgie's explanation may help him sleep better at night.
….U.S. soldiers are neither trained nor inclined to act as police. They know nothing about how to investigate crime, identify proper suspects, and apprehend them without wreaking enormous harm on innocent bystanders.
Well, those in military police MOS's are trained at such a mission, but they are few in number in Iraq. Further, a lot of reservists are also cops in their full-time jobs, but most of them aren't in a military police MOS in their reserve units. Even when you take them into account, you're still left with few trained police officers on the ground.
In Iraq the Americans operate under the tremendous handicap of not understanding either the language or the customs of the people they seek to control. Nor are the U.S. troops a corps of architects, construction engineers, public health experts, and social workers. They are trained killers. To expect them to “reconstruct” Iraq is silly. The army's job is to destroy, not to build.
In the end, the majority of those on the ground are grunts who aren't trained to handle such a complex task as that bequeathed them by the chickenhawk brigade. Nor do they have the appropriate disposition to perform such work. They are trained in the art of killing and blowing stuff up, not protection of property and civil liberties. Higgs is dead-on. This will likely remain a problem for the next few years.
This entry also posted at Stand Down.
Just popped in to say hello on the anniversary of the start ofthe Battle of Britain, 1940. Please take a moment to remember.
Posted by ExpatEgghead on July 10, 2003 05:08 AM
Will anybody also pop ion 6th August to share with us the moment of rememberence when the first out of two wapons of mass destruction (or mass murder as Rumsfeld likes to call them now ) was dropped on a civilian target by our freedom loving superpower ?
That will be the true test of rememberence.
Wouter
Posted by Wouter on July 10, 2003 05:28 AM
Isn’t there something outside of war and destruction that deserves commemoration?
Posted by Anonymous on July 10, 2003 09:08 AM
Carnaval, perhaps?
Posted by Vox on July 10, 2003 04:12 PM
What are you peace loving Americans going to do to stop the mass murder your country commits on a regular basis? Why don’t you stop talking about how you were mistreated by your government and do something that will make an impact.
Posted by mark on July 10, 2003 10:27 PM
mark: You’re talking at people who don’t know how to do that. There are way too many that worship violence and destruction. Like Bush, their byword is: Bring it on.
Posted by on July 10, 2003 10:52 PM
hahaha, all the ppl must die, i think so… war is freedom… but..at the same time… war is death… so, if u want to be free u must die…
Your lifestyle determines your Deathstyle…
See u in hell lonely ppl
Posted by Lion on August 11, 2003 12:31 PM
el payaso sorete de bush es un puto de mierda que solo seinteresa por los recursos, empiezen a armarse porque cuandoempieze a faltar el agua dulce nos va a cagar a palos todos (latinoamerica)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by picaseso on October 9, 2003 10:32 PM
Long ago in a democratic country called Rome there was a Senate. And in the Senate, a senator called Cicero. He finished each and every speech with the sentence: “And, also, Carthage should be destroyed”. Need I say more?
Posted by Shredder on December 27, 2003 10:12 PM
WE ARE AT WAR ,DO NOT FORGET THAT.STOP SCREWING AROUND & HIT THEM WITH EVERY THING WE HAVE!!!! IT ISTHE ONLY THING THEY UNDERSTAND!!!
Posted by Gary L Keane on February 29, 2004 08:10 PM
just love your blog!
Posted by suonerie on March 16, 2004 11:57 AM