IRAQ INVASION ‘GREATEST STRATEGIC DISASTER IN U.S.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

GEN. ODOM: IRAQ INVASION ‘GREATEST STRATEGIC DISASTER IN U.S. HISTORY’

By EVAN LEHMANN

Washington Bureau

The Lowell Sun

Massachusetts

Oct. 4, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The invasion of Iraq was the “greatest strategic disaster in United States history,” a retired Army general said yesterday, strengthening an effort in Congress to force an American withdrawal beginning next year.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. William Odom, a Vietnam veteran, said the invasion of Iraq alienated America's Middle East allies, making it harder to prosecute a war against terrorists.

The U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, he said, and reposition its military forces along the Afghan-Pakistani border to capture Osama bin Laden and crush al Qaeda cells.

“The invasion of Iraq I believe will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history,” said Odom, now a scholar with the Hudson Institute.

Imagine that.

http://www.dubyamovie.com

Failure, Failure, Failure! Will anything ever turn out right for this guy? Probably not, since he is cursed.

Bush Presidency Cursed By History

Since 1950, five of the eight other presidents who fell below 40% - Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush - lost their bids for re-election or opted not to run again. A sixth, Richard Nixon, was overwhelmed by the Watergate scandal and resigned.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/20...h-history_x.htm

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Bush Presidency Cursed By History

Since 1950, five of the eight other presidents who fell below 40% - Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush - lost their bids for re-election or opted not to run again. A sixth, Richard Nixon, was overwhelmed by the Watergate scandal and resigned.

225012[/snapback]

When informed of this fact, I am sure that W will abandon his re-election plans.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Note where this guy's newspaper is. Enough said.

[AURaptor 1,126]

The invasion was perhaps the greatest victory , not failure , in us military history. We did in 3 weeks what Iran couldn't do in 8 years, and did it w/ about *998,000 fewer casualities.

" I believe will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history,”

So, he's saying it isn't now, but WILL turn out. This guy can tell the future?

Nothing more than the same doom/ gloomer crowd.

*edited - actual casalties for Iran in the 8 yr war range from 450,000 - 950,000

[otterinbham 0]

Well, I'm not so sure...and I'm the guy who voted for Bush twice.

We won the war, but gave precious little thought to winning the peace. The fact that Rumsfeld cancelled deployment of another division after we had won gave me pause at the time. Essentially, without a police force or an army, Iraq devolved into chaos. Personally, I think we should followed the US's reconstruction plan that worked well in Germany: Denounce Hitler and Nazism, go back to your jobs, and be prepared for us to reform your government. It worked spectacularly in Germany, and it probably would have worked as well in Iraq.

However, the key problem is that we violated the time-honored notion of "preservation of enemies," the strategy of only fighting the nations you absolutely need to fight at a given time. While 90% of the country clearly understood the need for us to go into Afghanistan (And, quite frankly, nobody really has an issue with our being there today), the American people are convinced that this war, at best, has been tangential to the War On Terror.

But we're there now, and pulling out would be the absolute worst thing we could do. If we cut and run, it would teach our enemies to be patient. And it would tell our allies that we are unreliable. Whille 2000+ combat deaths is a terrible thing, it represents relatively light casualties on our part. The US lost 5,000 men in the Phillippine Insurrection alone. We lost more men in the first hour at Tarawa.

In short, Bush and company created a very difficult situation that proved unnecessary. It will be up to his successor to fix matters.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Good point, Raptor. To look at what the military did in Iraq in another perspective

- It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound.

- We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

- It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his

Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

Stay away from the nutjob websites, Bottomfeeder. They just fill your head full of horsecrap.

[quietfan 233]

The invasion was perhaps  the greatest victory , not failure , in us military history. We did in 3 weeks what Iran couldn't do in 8 years, and did it w/ about 999,998,000 fewer casualities.

" I believe will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history,”

So, he's saying it isn't now, but WILL  turn out. This guy can tell the future? 

Nothing more than the same doom/ gloomer crowd.

225067[/snapback]

Militarily, or tactically, yes the invasion was a great battlefield success (I assume you're speaking in hyperbole with the "999,998,000" figure--there aren't a billion people in all of Iraq and Iran.) However, I am reminded that in Vietnam the Tet Offensive ended up a great battlefield victory for the US forces, which repeled the attacks and inflicted massive casualties on the North Vietnamese after being caught off guard initially. Yet strategically the Tet Offensive was the beginning of the end in terms of our overall mission in Vietnam.

I wouldn't say Iraq is a strategic failure yet, but neither would I call it a strategic victory yet either. The verdict is still out on what Iraq will be in the future and what it will mean to the overall security of the Middle East, the US, and the world.

It is certainly true that after 9/11 and in Afghanistan we had the support and sympathy of most of the world who saw us as the victims defending ourselves against a dastardly, unprovoked attack. With the invasion of Iraq, we lost much of that universal good will. The verdict is still out on what that will mean to us in the long run.

[Captain Liger 0]

“The invasion of Iraq I believe will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history,” said Odom, now a scholar with the Hudson Institute.

225012[/snapback]

As opposed to what? Vietnam? Gimme a break. With all due respect to General Odom, he should stick to analyzing the conduct of the Vietnam War, apparently somthing he should have first hand knowledge of. We aren't fighting the VC or NVA and we aren't in the jungles. Different time, different enemy. Some lessons from Vietnam may apply but to say that Iraq will turn out to be a strategic disaster is asinine. We are winning in Iraq. I'm sorry if you disagree but it's a fact and I would know. If you served in Vietnam you may have felt you weren't winning while there. If so, that's your problem, don't make it mine and don't tell me I'm losing just because your generation didn't finish the job in Vietnam.

[rexbo 104]

The greatest strategic disaster in US history so far is Kennedy's Bay of Pigs, this lead to the showdown with the Soviet Union just 1 year later over the nuclear missles, the closest the US and the USSR ever came to launching a nuclear war against each other. And, left us with a hostile, Communist government just 90 miles from our shores for the past 45 years.

And in more contemporary history, leaving Saddam in power to either dig up his WMDs, or re-start his WMD program, and then selling his chemical and biological weapons to al Queda, would have been a much larger strategic disaster. As it is, we have some foothold of a democracy in the Middle East, although it is much messier than anyone, on either side of the aisle, predicted. The choice between these 2 scenarios is a no brainer...

[Bottomfeeder 244]

The greatest strategic disaster in US history so far is Kennedy's Bay of Pigs, this lead to the showdown with the Soviet Union just 1 year later over the nuclear missles, the closest the US and the USSR ever came to launching a nuclear war against each other.  And, left us with a hostile, Communist government just 90 miles from our shores for the past 45 years.

And in more contemporary history, leaving Saddam in power to either dig up his WMDs, or re-start his WMD program, and then selling his chemical and biological weapons to al Queda, would have been a much larger strategic disaster.  As it is, we have some foothold of a democracy in the Middle East, although it is much messier than anyone, on either side of the aisle, predicted.  The choice between these 2 scenarios is a no brainer...

225252[/snapback]

Well put, I have to agree with you. Thank you.

[rexbo 104]

The greatest strategic disaster in US history so far is Kennedy's Bay of Pigs, this lead to the showdown with the Soviet Union just 1 year later over the nuclear missles, the closest the US and the USSR ever came to launching a nuclear war against each other.  And, left us with a hostile, Communist government just 90 miles from our shores for the past 45 years.

And in more contemporary history, leaving Saddam in power to either dig up his WMDs, or re-start his WMD program, and then selling his chemical and biological weapons to al Queda, would have been a much larger strategic disaster.  As it is, we have some foothold of a democracy in the Middle East, although it is much messier than anyone, on either side of the aisle, predicted.  The choice between these 2 scenarios is a no brainer...

225252[/snapback]

I did forget to give credit where credit is due, Kennedy certainly messed up the Bay of Pigs, leaving Castro in power and then asking for missles; but Kennedy did stand up to the Soviet Union during the crisis, and got the missles removed. As Kennedy did not back down to the threat of WMDs in 1962, Bush didn't back down from the strong potential of Saddam's WMDs getting into the hands of Islamic fascists, and hopefully, will not back down to Iran's threats...