The day Bush declared the war over, I told a friend that the war for the USA in Iraq is only starting now...The USA tactics are wrong: you cannot win a counter insurgency war by just throwing money, material and men at it - Vietnam!!!. Further, their Intel is poor, and they do not have sufficient first-hand information to stop the bombings etc. Again, money and technology does not provide the complete answer to obtain Intelligence. You have to gather in with covert forward observation agents, physical patrols, and infiltrating the enemy ranks to obtain 1st-hand information; while simulatiuosly earn the respect of the local population.
We could have won vietnam is Nixon hadn't had a list of priority targets that we couldn't attack for fear of soviet repraisal. The Iraq war has been won. And the insurgents have been totally unsucessful in all their tactics. Proof of that is the fact that they haven't made one successful attack on the green zone, nor have they managed to stop any recent important events such as the elections. The U.S has earned the respect of the local populance. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't have a informed outlook on anything thats going on there. Anyways, money, manpower and technology is what makes the U.S the #1 super power in the first place. In fact, really I would wager the U.S is the only super power anymore.
These lessons were learnt in South Africa more than a century ago, when in the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902), the mighty British Empire attacked the 2 Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, having 450 000! men in the field by war's end, -against about 50 000 Boers. The British also declared the war over at the end of the conventional phase, but despite being outnumbered 10:1, and their farms and houses being burnt down, women and children dying in Concentration Camps; the Boers kept the Empire busy for another 2 years in one of the most costly wars for the Empire. (My grandfather fought in the Boer war and his house was also burned down as part of the policy of "scorched earth".)
Whats south africa have to do with anything. Not only is it nothing like modern warfare, but it isn't even an example that has the U.S in it.
In more recent history, the former SADF fought a 23 year Counter Insurgeny war in Namibia and Angola, in what became known as the South African Bushwar (1966-1989). The former SADF managed to win this was as is evident by the number of incidents (mines, bombings, attacks, etc.) as illustrated on the webpage:
http://www.geocities.com/sa_bushwar. By war's end the confrontation have taken a much more conventional form, with the SADF up against 45000 Cubans suplied with modern Soviet weaponary, FAPLA (Angolan Army), PLAN (Peoples Liberation Army of Namibia). By 1989, the end of the Cold War, political moves towards peace from the parties concerned, lead to a peaceful sub-continent.
Another pointless example.
Back to Iraq: The USA can learn from the British in the south how to win the "hearts and minds" of the people as a 1st step in ending a counter insurgency conflict. Typical American arrogance and ignorance is not going to help!
No, the U.S has launched and won the most brilliant military campaign of the century. We attacked a country with the fourth largest standing army in the world and won within a very short period of time. I would have to say that insulting us isn't going to do you any good. Or should I say, typical Anti-American arrogance and ignorance?
