I had a meeting in which there was a US Army Major Yesterday and he said..

[zapp]

"We know how to start wars but not how to win them."

This was said in a room full of civilians. He also happens to be the XO for the local Army reserve unit.

And, he said deadpan, with a look of chagrin.

This speaks volumes.

[Wright Patman]

1. Why does he hate America?

eom

[cap]

2. War is not a videogame...

you just dont go in and kick ass and take names...

As Clausewitz said, War is the continuation of Politics...

[A Simple Game]

3. It's more like,

We know how to win battles but not wars.

[FlemingsGhost]

4. As the facade crumbles, an empire stumbles.

Crash! ...

[TorchTheWitch]

5. I'm dating an Army Major

recently returned from Iraq, and he said the same exact thing.

He has a lot of other stuff to say, too... like the admin knew all along that we'd be there for at LEAST a decade, and we were gearing up for the war LONG before the subject came up to the general public (and in some ways, since Bush first got into office). He says it's getting worse and worse there with no sign whatsoever of improvement, and we basically fucked it up right from the beginning.

And he ain't happy about it one bit!

[liberalitch]

7. I'm glad he's back safe and sound.

[leftchick]

8. It is a wonderful thing to hear some sanity from the Military...

I am glad he is home safe with you. :)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. The vast majority of military personnel are completely sane, it's....

...some of the whack-job senior officers that reach high levels by currying favor with powerful politicians and corporate owners that we all have to look out for. It's also some of the special ops guys that are in the game solely to kill and hurt people, certainly not to defend anyone's freedoms.

IMHO, we're going to see more and more of the sane ones becoming more and more resistant to the orders coming from the whack-jobs. And that's when things are going to become increasingly more volatile.

[EVDebs]

6. When they end-run the War Powers Act and the Constitution, this is what

they get.

[oblivious]

9. The US is good at air strikes.

And it basically worked in Desert Storm and the Balkans conflict. This made the US overconfident, believing bombs and missiles could beat any country into submission, particularly a fifth-rate military power like Iraq in 2003.

Is that a fair assessment, using my simplistic knowledge of history?

[unhappycamper]

10. I can't recall a war that was EVER won from the air.

Grunts win wars.

[Straight Shooter]

11. Well, he should know.

That's what really makes it sad. I hope he and his fellow officers start speaking up more, and speaking LOUDER.