Successful Counter-Insurgency

**Pannonian** · 09-28-2006, 18:58

Originally Posted by yesdachi

For a successful counter-insurgency example you could time travel into the future and look back at the next 5 years of the Iraq war, or for an example of how not to do it you could look back at the last 5 years. Doesn’t it feel good to be a history lesson for the children of our children?

Gather round children while greatgrandpa Yesdachi tells you all about how we use to walk uphill both ways to the org to discuss the Iraq war.

So what do you think will change in the next 5 years to make this a success? Lessons learnt? The rhetoric over Iran shows that the most fundamental lesson still hasn't been learnt, and won't be learnt in the foreseeable future.

**Lemur** · 09-28-2006, 19:57

I somewhat agree with Pannonian in his assessment. Yesdachi, it would be very helpful if you could give us some examples of what is changing in out counter-insurgency strategy that leads you to think that the next phase of the Iraq ware will be substantially different.

I find it hard to see how we can have a major revamp of the war while Donald Rumsfeld is SecDef.

**yesdachi** · 09-28-2006, 20:32

Originally Posted by Lemur

I somewhat agree with Pannonian in his assessment. Yesdachi, it would be very helpful if you could give us some examples of what is changing in out counter-insurgency strategy that leads you to think that the next phase of the Iraq ware will be substantially different.

I find it hard to see how we can have a major revamp of the war while Donald Rumsfeld is SecDef.

Well children (Pannonian and Lemur) gather round, greatgrandpa Yesdachi has just gotten back from his trip to the future and although I cannot tell you all the great things that will happen I can tell you this...
(I’ll wrap it in spoiler tags incase there is someone that doesn’t want to know of their future)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**BDC** · 09-28-2006, 21:12

The Boer War? Of course that was almost as messy as Iraq is turning out...

**Lemur** · 09-28-2006, 21:24

Originally Posted by yesdachi

And I wouldn’t condemn our actions with/to Iran before they are even made. I can’t imagine life with such a negative attitude.

I read this sentence and wondered, "Who has mentioned Iran in this thread?" Then I went back and saw that Pannonian was referring to Iran, not Iraq. My eye glassed right past that one. We really need to be in conflict with countries that have more distinctive names.

When I said I agreed with Pannonian, I was in my alternate world in which he was talking about Iraq. Ugh. Too little sleep for the daddy lemur ...

**Pannonian** · 09-28-2006, 21:52

Originally Posted by Lemur

I read this sentence and wondered, "Who has mentioned Iran in this thread?" Then I went back and saw that Pannonian was referring to Iran, not Iraq. My eye glassed right past that one. We really need to be in conflict with countries that have more distinctive names.

When I said I agreed with Pannonian, I was in my alternate world in which he was talking about Iraq. Ugh. Too little sleep for the daddy lemur ...

See all the threats being made over Iran, and the uncompromising stance adopted by many Americans. Yesdachi remarked in another thread that there was no reason for the US to meet Iran anywhere in the middle, which is illustrative of the America the Great that is so absolutely certain of its moral high ground. If you're going to continue taking that attitude, you will lose all your remaining friends who have been willing to stick by you despite all that has happened, and all the cooperation you will get in the future will come purely from threats and bribes.

**yesdachi** · 09-29-2006, 16:46

Originally Posted by Pannonian

See all the threats being made over Iran, and the uncompromising stance adopted by many Americans. Yesdachi remarked in another thread that there was no reason for the US to meet Iran anywhere in the middle, which is illustrative of the America the Great that is so absolutely certain of its moral high ground. If you're going to continue taking that attitude, you will lose all your remaining friends who have been willing to stick by you despite all that has happened, and all the cooperation you will get in the future will come purely from threats and bribes.

There is no middle compromise with Iran IMO. No nuclear weapons program, continue to try and develop one and we are at odds. No US ally should have and issue with that.

Our attitude with Iran or even an attack or war with Iran won’t cost us any friends (that you make it seam like we are already out of). The US is the economic driving force of the world, our “friends” can be as vocal about their opposition to our actions as they want but will continue to scratch our back because we are scratching theirs. And the thought that cooperation would only come from threats and bribes is just silly, cooperation will continue coming from payoffs and coercion just like it always has.