Posts Tagged ‘afghanistan’

Queen Elizabeth must be very embarrassed

Posted: November 15, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, war
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England 1940 Sir Winston Churchill:

“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender”

England 2010 General Sir David Richards:

First of all you have to ask: do we need to defeat it [Islamist militancy] in the sense of a clear cut victory? I would argue that it is unnecessary and would never be achieved.

What can the Queen who served in the army during World War 2, who advised her grandson prince Harry to fight in Afghanistan think when she hears this?

It’s stuff like this that leads me to believe when Elizabeth dies, the best of England will die with her.

Let’s remind England how its done

Update: Atlas has an interesting take:

I agree with General Sir David Richards that al-Qaeda “cannot be beaten” but not for the same reasons. Clearly if we are afraid to freely discuss the ideology and motives behind this global war on the West then surely we cannot beat it.If we dare not speak its name, surely we cannot defeat it. If, instead, those that speak to the religious ideology that compels war against the “non-believers” are the ones demonized, surely it will defeat us.

First rule of survival, when someone says they are going to kill you, take them seriously.

Joe Scarborough in command at Spotsylvania Court House

Posted: August 9, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, opinion/news
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On Morning Joe again today Joe Scarborough brought out his favorite number “50 Al qaeda” when talking about Afghanistan and if we should be there. (it was not the most ridiculous statement of the show as a guest talked how it costs $1 mil per GI there saying we should spend it on their people instead as if a ten man medical team was not just slaughtered there two days ago) Every time the subject of Afghanistan is brought up the 50 al-Qaeda number is trumpeted by Joe in his argument that we should cut and run withdraw.

By an odd coincidence I was re-reading about the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House this weekend. It was a seminal moment in the war because Grant after being defeated soundly at the Wilderness instead of retreating as other Union generals did raced for Spotsylvania to get around Lee by the left. Grant’s troops raced for the courthouse in the hope of getting there first.

James Longstreet had been badly wounded and his division was now under the command of the unexciting Richard Anderson. Anderson’s division, not renowned for speed, raced for the same point on a road that was being cleared even as he marched

At Spotsylvania the Cavalry of course got there first. There was a clash at a rail pile where Confederates defended against the Union Cavalry trying to dislodge them but the infantry was just behind them. When the first Union elements arrived General Warren (one of the heroes of Gettysburg told his Brigadier John Robinson to attack informing him that there was nothing but dismounted cavalry ahead of him.
It was true at the time he said it but between that moment and the time of attack, the first infantry brigades made it to the line, beating the union troops there by less than a minutes and insuring that the massive bloodshed that the country had gone through for 3 years would be prolonged for at least one more.

Under the Joe Scarborough theory of warfare there will never be anything more than Fitz Lee’s dismounted cavalry in front of the rail piles and all decisions to be made should be on that basis. There will always be just 50 Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the Taliban are not our business.

I like Joe but lucky for us the tactical and strategic decisions in Afghanistan are not his.

A question for the “Let’s get out of Afghanistan” Crowd

Posted: August 3, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war
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on Morning Joe and elsewhere.

If we hadn’t stayed in Germany, Japan and South Korea for decades after World War II (and Korea) how long would we have had to wait for the next major war?

How many years would it have been before either Russia, China or North Korea conquering the weakened powers, or from rearmed Japan or Germany culturally unchanged and rearmed decided to reassert themselves?

Take your time, my K of C thing isn’t till later tonight.

Like nobody saw this coming

Posted: July 30, 2010 by datechguy in Afghanistan war, internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Do the words: Blood on their hands ring a bell?

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were studying and investigating the report, adding “If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them.”

This brought to mind something, twenty five years ago just out of college I started at Raytheon. In the list of document that had to be filled out when at my hire was one that caught my eye.

It was a list of offensives that made you subject to death or such lesser penalty as the law would allow.

When you’re 21 it’s really heady stuff to read that there are things you can do on the job that can get you executed. Of course I wasn’t planning to give classified info to the soviets in the middle of the cold war, but it was a sobering thing to read.

As I remember when the media convicted Richard Jewel I’m going to withhold judgment for now on the soldier who is being named in the media, but if an employee at a defense plant is aware that treason carries a possible death penalty how much more should a soldier, particularly during wartime?

If it is proved this or any soldier was complicit in the leaks, such an act that’s as clear a case of treason as there is.

And now it appears that those helping us will now pay for their support of America with their lives.

If this doesn’t warrant a firing squad I don’t know what does.

Memeorandum thread here.

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