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« on: December 09, 2005, 11:13:16 am » |
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I know this is way off topic for this site. I hope you will indulge me. If not the moderators can delete. The message copied into this posting is from a friend and fellow Vietnam vet, we both now serve out country via DHS. My father served in the 101st Airborne, WWII, at least two of his brothers served also, one a UDT in the Navy, a third was to young for Korea but served afterward. An uncle served in Korea, myself and at least two other cousins during Vietnam. One nephew has done two tours in the Marines in Iraq, a second graduated from Marine bootcamp Nov 23, 05. My friend, vet, and co-workers son is finishing his ROTC/Ranger training and will be on full time duty in about a year. The hope is this long winded explaination will explain why I feel the need to get out information that helps support our troops. I hate war with a real passion, was upset to see us go in when and how we did, get over it. But, we are there now and to just walk away with the job not finished I believe would have far reaching, long lasting negative effect on the entire world. It would also belittle the enormous sacrafice that 2,000+ troops and their families have made to get things this far. Please read.
I don't know, below from my son, 3rd year Army ROTC. Yes good being done.., but to what end & the blood our youth spilled. Again..., perplexing to me..., looking back I/we can think of good we did & more than anything I/we wanted support from home!!!
In a message dated 12/8/2005 10:57:34 PM Eastern Standard Time, smitch1984@gmail.com writes:
Cadets,
Please take a minute to read the following. It was sent down from GEN Schoomaker with the hope that everyone, even at the lowest levels, will read this....
c/LTC Harmon
CSA Sends:
This is as clear as it can be stated - please get these words out to all
of the men and women in your organizations. I encourage you to
personally carry this message to the American People. As Soldiers, we
have the most credible voices in America. We need to lead the way.
Thanks for your leadership and for all you have given. Cindy and I send
our very best wishes to each of you and your families as we serve
together during another Christmas Season in the Long War.
With Warmest Regards
GEN Schoomaker
**************************************************
All: Notes from a student at the Naval War College on GEN Abizaid's
recent
speech:
__
General Abizaid (Commander, U. S. Central Command whose responsibilities
include Iraq and Afghanistan) spoke to the Naval War College last week.
The audience comprised primarily War College students who are
mid-grade/senior military officers. The majority of these officers have
served in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so there was a real
understanding of the dynamics of the region... BS would not sell to this
audience.
Here is a short summary of General Abizaid's comments, from
contemporaneous
notes:
He is amazed as he goes around the country and testifies before the
Congress how many of our countrymen do not know or understand what we
are doing or how we are doing. There are very few members of Congress
who have ever worn the uniform (of our Armed Forces). He said that the
questions he gets from some in Congress convince him that they have the
idea that we are about to pushed out of Iraq and Afghanistan. There is
no relation between this and the reality on the ground.
As he goes around the region and talks to troops and junior officers he
is very impressed by their morale and their achievements. They are
confident that they are capable of defeating the enemy. You will never
see a headline in this country about a school opening or a power station
being built and coming on line, or a community doing well. Only the
negative things will get coverage in the media. He told the
mid-grade/senior officers to go to their local Lions Clubs when they go
home and tell the people what they are doing. If they don't get the
word out, the American people will not know what is really happening.
The insurgency is in four of 18 provinces in Iraq, not all 18. You do
not hear about the 14 provinces where there is no insurgency and where
things are going well. The insurgency in Afghanistan is primarily in
Kandahar province (home of the Taliban) and in the mountain region on
the Pakistani border. The rest of the country is doing well.
Iraq now has over 200,000 soldiers/police under arms and growing. They
are starting to eclipse the US/coalition forces. Their casualty rate is
more than double that of the US. There are more than 70,000 soldiers
under the moderate government in Afghanistan and growing.
He predicted that the insurgencies in the four Sunni provinces in
northern/central Iraq and in Southwestern Afghanistan will be there for
the foreseeable future, but they will be stabilized and become small
enough so the moderate governments will be able to keep them under
control.
2006 will be a transition year in Iraq and that will see the Iraqi
forces take much more of the mission from the US forces. This is
necessary to bring stability to Iraq. We need to be fewer in numbers
and less in the midst of the people for the moderate Iraqi government to
succeed.
Our primary enemy is not the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is
al Qaida and their ideology. We are at a period now that is similar to
the 1920s where Communism and Nazism had not taken hold in Russia and
Germany.
The ideology of Al Qaida is out there and it has not taken hold in any
country in the Middle East. We need to make sure that it does not and
we are doing that, but it will be a long problem with a long commitment.
He said that we are focused on the things that we (Americans) have done
wrong, like Abu Ghraib, and not talking about this enemy. We need to
talk about this enemy. al Qaida is all over the world. Their goal is
to get the US out of the region and come to power in the Islamic
countries of the region. From there, their goal is to establish a
Caliphate (under a single Islamic ruler) that goes from the Atlantic in
North Africa to Indonesia in the Pacific. Fifty years after this
happens, their goal is to rule the rest of the world.
Since Desert Storm in 1991, US forces have not lost any combat
engagement in the region at the platoon-level or above. al Qaida has no
beliefs that they can defeat us militarily. They see our center of
gravity as being the will of the American People. That is influenced by
the media and they are playing to that. They don't need to win any
battles. Their plan is keep the casualties in front of the American
people in the media for long enough that we become convinced that we
cannot win and leave the region. This would be tragic for our country.
The battle against al Qaida will not be primarily military. It will be
political, economic, and ideological. It will require the international
community to fight too. We must not let al Qaida get hold in any
country.
It will result in our worst nightmare. Picture life in Afghanistan
under the Taliban, that is what Al Qaida's ideology has as a goal.
If you look at the geography (of al Qaida), there is no place to put a
military solution. They are networked and they are all over the world.
They are a virtual organization connected by the Internet. They use it
to proselytize, recruit, raise money, educate and organize. They have
many pieces that we must focus on: the propaganda battle in the media,
safe houses, front companies, sympathetic members of legitimate
governments, human capital, fighters and leaders, technical expertise,
weapons suppliers, ideologically sympathetic non-government
organizations (charities), financers, smugglers, and facilitators. A
lot of their money comes from drugs.
We are winning but we have got to maintain constant pressure over time
with the international community and across the US government agencies.
No one is afraid that we can't defeat the enemy. Our troops have the
confidence, the courage, and the competence. We need the will of the
American people to be sustained for the long haul.
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: FOUO
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