Dr. Brin recently made some harsh criticisms of the US
war plans in Iraq, and suggested that it would be the
prowess of US soldiers in the field that would salvage
success in this war. David Frum's commentary on this
from a few days ago seems particularly relevant - as
well as providing some great one-liners.
JDG
MAR. 29, 2003: "QUAGMIRE" - PART 1
A reader writes:
"I've thought considerably about the D-Day invasion,
which is widely agreed as a
great triumph. But how would today's media reacted at
the time to these issues?
"- The anti-aircraft fire disrupted the paratroop
droppings, spreading them for miles, and causing great
confusion.
"- The initial landings on the Utah beach were off the
mark by about a half mile as a I recall. The strong
tides carried the landing craft from the correct
landing point.
"- The Army Air Force bombers dropped their bombs
inland from Omaha Beach,
missing key German positions that later lead to the
death of so many American soldiers on the beach.
"- Allied intelligence didn't realize the hedgerows
were so tall, and would cause so much havoc. The
initial breakout strategy was obsolete.
"Many of today's media would sum this up as a complete
failure of the invasion, but it wasn't. The
paratroopers, in small groups adjusted to the
situation. Patratoopers who didn't know even know each
other began working together to achieve objectives.
Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. made a quick decision on the
beach, saying "we'll start the war right here." He
communicated back to the invasion fleet to bring
troops to his position. Despite horrific losses, the
troops on Omaha moved ahead and prevailed. Troops in
the field developed tactics to kill Germans dug into
strong defensive positions. This included mounting
obstacles from the beach on the front of tanks to
break through the hedgerows. So we now see D-Day for
what it was, a tremendous accomplishment, in which the
troops adjusted to the situation on the ground. Just
like our troops are adjusting to the situation in
Iraq."
And from another:
"When I was a Company Commander in Germany, a
sarcastic and ironic piece of paper was floating
around the Army. It quoted a WWII German general and a
present-day Soviet general making disparaging comments
about us, based of course on the Soviet and German
rigidity of command and control. It went like this:
"The reason the Americans are so successful at war is
that war is chaos, and the American Army practices
chaos on a daily basis."---German general (can't
remember the name of the guy. Might have been Guderian
or Rommel).
"Americans are so hard to fight because they do not
know their doctrine, and if they do, they do not feel
compelled to follow it."---Soviet guy (also don't
recall who.)
"Written at the bottom in longhand, as if from an
American general to the troops, is 'Keep up the good
work!'"
I thought you might think it was funny.
=====
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq:
Your enemy is not surrounding your country � your enemy is ruling your
country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be
the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03
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