WMD Forum

[rlrohrer]

I find McChrystal hard to fathom, especially from the point of view of a Rolling Stone stringer! For the most part it was just a story of what happens when no one is willing to tell the truth! An article where I kept waiting for the great command error that caused so much hoopla! I think I found it in McChrystal's West Point short story written of a visitor to the White House with a .32 auto in the right front pocket of his raincoat. Fear!

I came away with the impression if any credibility existed that McChrystal exhibits a schizoid personality best described by the famed analyst R. D. Lang who said of the syndrome "The term schizoid refers to an individual the totality of whose experience is split in two main ways: in the first place, there is a rent in his relation with his world and, in the second, there is a disruption of his relation with himself".

Seems to me putting warrior types into Nation building roles, where they try to accomplish winning wars with ROE, is the logical outcome of the "Double Bind" of our National policy. And, as I have essentially said elsewhere, common sense would say that for COIN to work you need a fairly high percent of the population working with you and countering AGAINST the "insurgents". It complicates it even further when the "insurgents" come from multiple factions, and when the indigenous population is either terrified of them, cooperating with them or COMPLICIT with them. To my mind there is really no way to win that game. Seems the VC were insurgents supported by the North, along with Russia and China; now we have a collection of Taliban and al Qaeda supported by many of their own as well as Iran and even Pakistan. Sounds like what we faced in Vietnam, and that did not end well!

And engaging in admitted civilian wars where the ROE prevents the killing of civilians is just insane! I would venture to say it is impossible for us to ever parse out the good from the bad, from the worst in societies that can't even do it among their own!

I have come to believe we cannot best protect America by spending the rest of our National wealth rebuilding our enemies nations. We used to destroy them before we did that! In any event we can no longer economically afford it and it makes no sense as long as we take no steps to protect ourselves right here IN America! The FBI knows the location of terror training camps that will someday wreak havoc, and our borders are still wide open. Until we exhibit some rational Homeland Security I am against running all over the planet trying achieve it. We went to Vietnam to stop a communist domino and let one fall right off our Florida coast -- go figure!

I am certainly far from an isolationist but it seems we are on a very wrong path. The military aspect is accepted by our military because that's what they do; the Political aspect is accepted by our President and his clan because it fits with their international mantra of guilt, apology and redistribution.

In fact, the "Double Bind" of almost our entire National policy is so "Bassackwards" as to defy anyone making any logical sense of it, or effectively implementing any strategy that does not conflict with something or someone!

So now Petraeus gets to play the game of spending some more billions until our committed term is up! I am sure all the locals in country are watching the game clock. In the meantime I am more worried about what is happening right here in America. In fact, this whole thing might just be Kabuki to keep our eyes off what is really important -- America in the process of its "Fundamental Change"!
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Put America First!
Bob Rohrer
www.BobRohrer.com