Maginot minds in Washington gloss over the truth in Iraq

[Barrett808]

MAGINOT MINDS IN WASHINGTON GLOSS OVER THE TRUTH IN IRAQ
Tue Dec 28, 6:01 PM ET
By Georgie Anne Geyer

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On the eve of World War II, the French depended confidently upon their huge and famous Maginot Line. Its enormous defensive fortresses, created almost as a necklace of cities in themselves, lined the entire border between France and Germany -- this time, the Germans would never pass!

But all the Germans had to do was to march around through Belgium to invade France. By May 1940, the vaunted Maginot Line was pitifully useless against such innovative resolve.

Today in Iraq, American officials are having to face their own verbal and rhetorical Maginot Lines. Our "answer" has been that we can get out when Iraqi forces are trained, when elections are held, and when Iraqis themselves win back the country from the "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "guerrillas" (or whatever we finally determine they are).

But in only the last two weeks, American generals and civilian officials are, in fact, admitting that they have their own similar Maginot Line problems. In Mosul, the Iraqi police force has "faded away." American generals speak of a "virtual connectivity" of the insurgents never seen before, as they use the Internet to pass along techniques, tactics and advice to one another. American generals now admit that almost all of them are Iraqis; we have created the Iraqi terrorists who were not there before.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2205&ncid=742&e=14&u=/ucgg/20041228/cm_ucgg/maginotmindsinwashingtonglossoverthetruthiniraq

[TheKingfish]

1. Some good points i suppose

But its a very pained analogy. I tire of the WW2 analogies that compare the US to anyone but the Germans.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Not sure that was the specific intent of the article, unless there's more

to it than posted here.

But if the analogical shoe fits, we probably have to wear it.


As I recall, Germany was the last country who had their own vision of a Project for a New German Century. Until we, the collective population of the USA, wake up to the fact that our invasion and occupation had nothing to do with Saddam, or democracy building, or whatever the veneer is that the corporate Republican media wishes to frame our actions in, and everything to do with controlling the ME for US corporate Big Oil, we're doomed to march down the same road of self-righteousness and nobility of purpose that ultimately did Germany in.

[bemildred]

3. Personally, I like Foch better, but it's not a good analogy anyway. nt