The Bush Deux Legacy, or Why Kerry-McCain 2004 was so desperate a hope.

Where's Pepe?

Tecumseh still kicking ass

Hooray! Go Navy!

[JJ, JJ -- you forgot the "Coanda" label. I'll remedy the situation. Also, add a pic while at it. -- AI]

The honeymoon is finally over

Priceless:
I can’t look at Petraeus — his uniform ornamented like a Christmas tree with honors, medals and ribbons — without thinking of the great Mort Sahl at the peak of his brilliance. He talked about meeting General Westmoreland in the Vietnam days. Mort, in a virtuoso display of his uncanny detailed knowledge — and memory — of such things, recited the lengthy list (”Distinguished Service Medal, Croix de Guerre with Chevron, Bronze Star, Pacific Campaign” and on and on), naming each of the half-acre of decorations, medals, ornaments, campaign ribbons and other fripperies festooning the general’s sternum in gaudy display. Finishing the detailed list, Mort observed, “Very impressive!” Adding, “If you’re twelve.”

Kinetic energy

A major assumption of previous U.S. commanders in Iraq had been that "kinetic" operations--the favored neologism for "combat"--were counter-productive, producing more resentment and more insurgents. They emphasized the need to win hearts and minds and to avoid alienating the population. While major combat operations generate resentment among the population, and may encourage indigenous forces to become dependent on outside assistance, Petraeus and Odierno recognized that such problems pale in comparison with allowing the enemy to control key terrain and attack targets at will. Duhhh... I mean, do you need to be a military genius to understand that, in war, an Army needs to conduct combat operations?

Coandaboom!

Surge is more than a bunch of boots on the ground--it's also more (and better) aircraft, and more flyboys. By the way, read here about the Osprey: Use of Coanda technology to redirect exhaust. Powww!! Hey, JJ, where is my Louis Roed?

Back to Mesopotamia and Reconstruction

Okay, politics at home can fuck off for a while. Back to our band of brothers and sisters on the front. The link above directs you to an Atlantic piece about how Iraqis turned on al Qaeda, and how local, grass-roots politics is necessary for Iraq to hoist itself and stand on its own two feet. That is happening. See this singular excerpt that serves to symbolize a growing trend:

"We Sunnis had what we call sahwa, an awakening," Dr. Mouyad [an Iraqi] said. "An American soldier was blown up outside my windows. My children were screaming. I said, ‘Enough!’ You Americans had your own awakening. No more rough stuff. It’s good here now. We’re together—American soldiers and my neighbors. It’s the [Iraqi] government that needs an awakening."

And another excerpt:

"With Americans, things improved," he [former local insurgent leader, Abu Abid] said. "We are a victory for the Iraqi government, but they won’t support us. We don’t want to be left out. If the Americans leave us, it will be a disaster."

In the more personal sense, my bro-in-law arrived in Kuwait with the rest of his MP company not long ago, another small outfit to help expedite this broader procedure. The most recent newsletter told of how before arriving in Kuwait, they spent the last 70 days training 16 hours/day at Ft. Dix in New Jersey. Now they are training in Kuwait, and will get just a bit of R&R before heading to kick some ass and help the locals in Iraq.

Professor-General Petraeus continues to do a stand-up job. Maybe when he's done cleaning up Iraq, he'll consider being our 21st Century "Ike," much to Planet Pepe's shagrin. Hats off to our soldiers, once again.

Is Petraeus fueling McCain's surge?

Investigative Work in Iraq with Cpt. Cook...

18 December, 2007

We are settled into our forward combat outpost... near the ancient ruins of the Assyrian capital, Ashur, along the banks of the Tigris River... Over the past year, our Troop trained really hard for the worst case scenario, which is constant gun battles and other intense fighting that often times erupts in a counterinsurgency campaign. We prepared for this contingency because you always need to be ready for such worst, but our area of operations right now is in line with the general trend across Iraq since the surge: a slow, methodical campaign to uproot insurgent networks that operate a lot like a mafia family would. It is a painstaking process with a lot of emphasis on investigative work. Fortunately, our police training with the Austin Police department’s organized crime division is paying huge dividends in this type of campaign. We use force when we have to, but we are finding that more often restraint and forbearance pays far more dividends in winning over the population to our side.

Uh-oh! Looks like AA and AI might need to modify their Sherman-esque approach?

I'm with McCain on this one

“I looked into his eyes and saw three letters: a K, a G and a B." OK, he (almost) gets my vote now. If he only were as square-jawed as Mitt...

Michael Totten offers MIT a counterpoint...

...and Mike's website. Keep up the good work, Totten.

Eat your heart out, Pepe

The surge is working, says the Beeb. There is no joy left in the Big Easy.

It’s another thing when it’s done to an American general who has put his life at risk to protect us...

Go Rudy... Go Petraeus.