Quote Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter View Post
I've got no love for or interest in Nugent but very few of the people calling for caution in either war (not sure which you're referring to) were right. WRT Vietnam, very few people were calling for caution for the same reasons MacArthur was (getting bogged down in an intractable war with questionable public support) -- most were protesting the war for the wrong reasons (and frankly, creating the condition that gave MacArthur and like-minded generals pause). WRT Iraq, again, very few people were calling for caution due to an accurate assessment of the military situation (Shinseki was one of the few who was cautious for this particular reason) -- most of the protests I remember were for wholly inaccurate or political purposes.

Rumsfeld wanted to analogize Iraq to WW II while the Left wanted to analogize it with Vietnam. Interestingly, (just as with Vietnam) purposeful undermining by the Left gave hope and energy to our adversaries which may have resulted in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Now both of you kiss and make up.

Here Aloha, let me shatter a little image of me... I agree

I tend to fall in line with Shinseki's point of view and I agreed with him 100% at the time. I don't give a crap about going around the world toppling evil dictators. Esp ones that behind the scenes were doing some good for US interests... how by keeping a lid on that crap hole called the middle east. When we were railroaded into Iraq, I hoped for the best but was not let down in the least in my expectations. None of this had to do with the military lacking. It all had to do with the ideologue goons calling the shots. They were determined to prove that the Marshal Plan was wrong and in the end got people killed for that bull headed stance.