IRAQ: "like putting a Flintstones Band-Aid on a gushing femoral artery"

[nostamj]

Suicide mission
The mess-hall bombing in Mosul, say military analysts, signals the final unraveling of the U.S. war effort in Iraq.
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By David DeBatto

<snip>

A more blunt assessment comes from retired Military Intelligence Sgt. Maj. J. David Gallant, an instructor at the Army Military Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. "National will is going to falter in its support of this U.S. involvement -- more than it already has -- if our soldiers cannot even be secure in large, semi-hardened containment areas," he says. "This is a damned cold slap in the face, and not one of these soldiers should have been killed or injured." He goes on to say, "Iraq is heading for civil war and total chaos and the Jan. 30 election is like putting a Flintstones Band-Aid on a gushing femoral artery."

That a suicide bomber could penetrate the base shows a new and increased sophistication by the insurgents to obtain accurate, actionable intelligence, analysts say. It also marks a new low in terms of American commanders securing their facilities against such attacks. Commenting on the breach, Sgt. Maj. Gallant says, "If my son or yours were in that DFAC and was killed or maimed, I would goddamned well want to know just who the hell is not doing his job that is allowing incipient attacks like this to occur."

While many neoconservatives and senior military officials have avoided comparing Iraq to Vietnam, the analogy can no longer be ignored. The mess-tent bombing even suggests a worse situation. It took a good four to five years for things to go south in a big way during the Vietnam War. That includes sapper attacks and major strikes against U.S. bases, populated areas and government officials -- the kinds of things happening every day now in Iraq. The difference is that we've only been in Iraq for 18 months.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/12/23/mosul/index.html

[rkc3]

1. Sgt. Maj. Gallant will soon be court-martialed for his comments.

[nostamj]

2. he's retired.

but, I guess they can call him back to service and THEN court martial him...

[rkc3]

14. The way the military has worked recently, they just might.

[tk2kewl]

3. those guys are just liberal college professors

albeit from military academies.

[nostamj]

4. and that implies.... ?

what? trust Rummy??

[tk2kewl]

5. was sarcastic

[nostamj]

7. oh really........?

/sarcasm ;-)

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Come On nostamj!

As we ALL know, ALL college professors are liberals who indoctrinate the students. So, this guy must be too! Geez, you liberals don't know nuthin'! Damned liberal professors!
The Professor

P.S. - Never mind!

[Jacobin]

8. What is somewhat odd about all this new found hand wringing:

Two months ago a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant deep inside the "Green Zone"(tm), thought to be the most secure place for the invaders in Iraq. Lots of people killed and maimed. The road from Baghdad to the airport (20 miles long?)is no longer passable...everyone has to take a helicopter.

Why is this Mosul attack all of a sudden now the doom and gloom, the implication being that before Mosul things would work out ok, and now they can't?

Is it because now the election is over and now the media can start suggesting to Murkins that maybe it's not going so well now, to prepare them for retreat?

Is it the added pathos of so many White Christian Men being killed close to Christmas?

I find it bizarre that this is getting so much press in corporate america. It's not like it wasn't obvious for months before that this thing is lost.

I'm clueless

[nostamj]

10. combination of things...

election period is over. there IS declining support for *'s war. (read www.talkingpointsmemo.com for a good 'take' on why the polls for the war and the little dictator are tanking)

and, this was the biggest ATTACK, if not biggest single loss of life, in the "war" so far...

nostamj_online|

[DireStrike]

12. I didn't even HEAR about that.

I joined DU in late october... thanks for keeping me informed, "libral media!"

[Aristus]

9. Apocalypse Now: "It was a way we had of living with ourselves

over here (Vietnam). We'd cut 'em in half with a machine gun and then give them a Band-Aid."

[DS1]

11. I can't help but wonder if some Iraqi Nat'l Guardsman working the gate was

paid to look the other way :eyes:

[gratuitous]

13. I hope that band-aid has a purple heart drawn on it

Thirty years from now, the Republicans will mock the survivors and ask publicly whether they bled enough in Mosul to earn their Purple Hearts. You remember, just like they did at the Republican National Convention?

And isn't it odd how support for the war has ebbed badly in the last six weeks since the election. You don't suppose the offensive in Fallujah, with the inevitable backlash and loss of life, were timed to do the least amount of political damage to Stupidhead's reelection campaign? I wonder how many dead and wounded soldiers might have been spared if the Fallujah offensive had been carried out on a military timetable rather than a political one?

[quaoar]

15. Anyone who thinks Iraq will hold together as a nation

without oppressive military force is living in fantasy land.

It is Yugoslavia waiting to erupt. The Kurds will be the first to head for the exits.