Posted at Black Five
Thomas Ricks just prior to McChrystal’s resignation:
it may be time for a whole new team in Afghanistan. My nomination is for Petraeus to step down an echelon and take the Afghanistan command. You could leave him nominally the Centcom chief but let his deputy, Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, oversee Iraq, the war planning for Iran, and dealing with Pakistan and the Horn of Africa. But more likely is that Petraeus will ask for another Marine general, James Mattis, who is just finishing up at Jiffycom, and who had planned to retire later this year and head home to Walla Walla, Washington. Petraeus and Mattis long have admired each other. The irony is that Mattis has a reputation — unfairly, I think — for speaking a little too bluntly in public about things like killing people. I think Mattis is a terrific, thoughtful leader.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
That’s a great poster!
OooRah
I wonder what call the Republican Party Chairman will make?
Without a doubt, the best and probably only effective model for our nation’s foreign policy. If only we had a sufficient number of realists in the government to implement it.
Sounds like the real way to win the hearts and minds of the people. I’ll bet Gen. Mattis didn’t telegraph his battle plans to the enemy. the concept of “Love Your Enemy’ doesn’t work well in war.
The Surge Worked !! and now we have a government in Iraq that is best friends with Iran and fully supports Iran’s nuclear policy. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123619§ionid=351020104 And I say that is but a small price to pay if 4 Iraqi women are now able to open their own coffee shop.
A modernized version of walk softly and carry a big f-ing stick
The most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
@John ryan: As I said to you once before (and I can’t believe you’re stupid enough to make the same point rather than be intellectually embarrassed by it):
We did not go to war just so women can open coffee shops and soldiers can pass out beanie babies and candy. THINK! Is that really so hard for you to do? (Actually, nevermind…I already know the answer). Weighing the lives of 4,000 soldiers and the costs and sacrifices of war to a coffee shop as the reward is a false comparison.
Go back and re-read my entire response to you and try and think past your partisan blinders cheerleading our failure, ok?
The most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
I think that kind of depends on who’s saying it to whom, and what the circumstances are.
@John Ryan
Wow. Really? REALLY?
How much time and effort did it take to find the one and only site to support your stupid, knee-jerk posit?
You found, and posted a link to an Iranian-government-run site, then come here and post it to somehow “prove” a “point”. (Those are sneer-quote marks, in case you don’t know.)
And then with no introspection at all, claim only 4 Iraqi women out of 10 million have benefited from our sacrifices, and the sacrifices of their own men.
Really?
REALLY?????
That’s all you have, yet evidently that was enough for you to come here and post that.
To do what? Convince someone that the whole war was useless?
REALLY????
Wow. What a shitty position to be in.
Must suck to be you. Glad I’m not.
As far as the heroic Taliban is concerned, he’s just another in a long line of generals, ever since Alexander. Right now, they’re saying, “Yeah, right”.
Their problem is that they’ve never met a Marine General before. Our problem will be if Washington hamstrings him with a bunch of silly rules of engagement.
The only thing the Taliban understands is force – raw, unbridled, force. We can give it to them, if we’ll just stand back and let the Marines do what they do best.
And keep the damn reporters out of the country. (Except perhaps Yon.)
WORDSMITH: hi, i remember few days ago you had pick GENERAL MATTIS name. bye
I read that the GENERAL PETRAUS had some argument with PRESIdENT KARZEI.
This is how we should deal with EVERYONE in the world. You are either our Allies or our Enemies when it comes to armed conflict. Stand with us or stand against us and suffer the consequences. We also need to stop pulling out punches when we retaliate against those against us.
ALeric: agreed, bye 🙄