Retired U.S. general on how to handle IS and why we lost in Iraq, Afg

[MastanKhan]

Hi,

For how many years I hae written about the failures of the U S military in Iraq and AFG----I know I was not wrong-----they already knew about it. Where is @CENTCOM


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A three-star general in Iraq and Afghanistan knows firsthand what went wrong during the last decade — and does not want the U.S. to repeat the same mistakes in our battle against the Islamic State.
Related Stories

1. Why We Lost Iraq and Afghanistan The Wall Street Journal
2. U.S. to Speed Training of Iraqi Security Forces The Wall Street Journal
3. Hagel says US speeding up training of Iraqi forces Associated Press
4. Obama authorizes 1,500 more US troops for Iraq Associated Press
5. US war against IS steadily escalates, raising stakes AFP

Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, of Raleigh, N.C., retired from the Army last year with the Combat Action Badge, five Bronze Star medals (including one for valor) and a sense of guilt for the soldiers who died under his command.
“I am personally responsible for the deaths of 80 of them — 76 men, four women — and indirectly responsible for a lot more as a senior leader,” he said in an interview with Yahoo News. “I will carry these deaths with me to my grave. I think about it every day and night.”
Bolger, the author of "Why We Lost," salutes the troops for their bravery and sacrifice but places the blame squarely on people in the higher ranks, like himself.
“The men and women I fought beside did a great job, but I know I let them down by not giving them rational missions that they could carry out,” he said.
Having studied military history, he says he should have known that a U.S.-led counterinsurgency in a country like Afghanistan could never work.
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U.S. Soldiers with Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team …
Now, with the rise of the Islamic State, there’s a growing choir urging the U.S. military to lead yet another ground war in Iraq.
“That would be four times biting that poison apple: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and then Iraq again,” he said.
Bolger says the Iraqis and Syrians need to lead the charge against the brutes who have been spreading chaos and bloodshed through their countries.
“We have to let the Iraqis do it, realize they are not going to do it our way and understand that we will have an imperfect outcome,” he said.
Bolger says the U.S. should still be involved in the region’s struggles — in part because of our moral commitment to the Iraqi people — but it’s a matter of degree.
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Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, of Raleigh, N.C., is the author of 'Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account …
In September, President Barack Obama ordered America’s armed forces to begin a series of airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria and assured the public that “these terrorists can't find safe haven anywhere.”
Bolger notes that it is difficult to bomb IS because it doesn’t exactly have a panzer division. And its members flee into civilian areas when the West applies pressure.
The men and women of the U.S. military are trained to do many things in combat effectively, but sorting out who is or is not a terrorist in civilian areas is not one of them, according to Bolger.
“You need ground troops, but Iraqi ground troops backed by our advisers and trainers,” he said.
To Bolger, IS is just the latest version of the same Sunni jihadis he had been fighting. In some cases, they are literally the same people.
On Veterans Day, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave a speech at the Vietnam War Memorial urging Americans to honor those who served but to question the policies that send them off to fight.
“There is nothing to be gained by glossing over the darker portions of a war that bitterly divided America,” Hagel said that day. “We must openly acknowledge past mistakes, and learn from them, because that is how we avoid repeating them.”

 

[Kompromat]

US lost because its an empire in terminal decline phase. Any serious student of history of warfare would tell you that the US's behaviour was not a surprise. All superpowers or empires as we formally called them have gone through a similar process in their terminal decline period when they wanted to cling on to power by killing their way out of it.

 

[VCheng]

US lost because its an empire in terminal decline phase. Any serious student of history of warfare would tell you that the US's behaviour was not a surprise. All superpowers or empires as we formally called them have gone through a similar process in their terminal decline period when they wanted to cling on to power by killing their way out of it.

USA is neither an empire, nor is it in terminal decline. Therefore, these rest of your premise fails.

 

[Stephen Cohen]

@Horus

In order to hold territory and fight counter insurgency successfully you need more
boots on the ground . ie in the ratio of 1:10

ie One soldier for 10 civilians

The maximum number of US troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq was 150,000
Hence both the Iraq and Afghan operations ran out of steam

Technology and money cannot substitute manpower

Hence forth USA will focus only on its rivalry with China and Russia

And trouble spots like Syria ; ISIS will be dealt with Airpower

 

[MastanKhan]

US lost because its an empire in terminal decline phase. Any serious student of history of warfare would tell you that the US's behaviour was not a surprise. All superpowers or empires as we formally called them have gone through a similar process in their terminal decline period when they wanted to cling on to power by killing their way out of it.

Hi,

If you would have said that for the murder of a million afghans and a million and a half Iraqis---the americans will get the natural justice in the end---I would say okay----but not in the way you put.

The u s lost because of the arrogance of its general command----sec def---VP---and their team. Understimated the resilience of the afghan warriors----did not take the terrain into consideration---did not do the job that it was supposed to do right from day one----hired merceneries and criminals---and the worst of all---let its top enemies escape with their lives and familes into the mountains---and there were only a limited number of escape routes----and the leader of the enemy was BLIND IN ONE EYE----who could not have himself hidden in a crowd of a million.

How stupid an army has to be to do something like that----how stupid does a general commanding officer has to be to do something like that---how stupid of a commander in chief of the forces has to be to allow such a thing to have happened.

How stupid the leadership of this military is that it did not close the escape routes of the enemy---.

Now where is @CENTCOM when you need him here.

 

[gambit]

Hi,

If you would have said that for the murder of a million afghans and a million and a half Iraqis---the americans will get the natural justice in the end---I would say okay----but not in the way you put.

The u s lost because of the arrogance of its general command----sec def---VP---and their team. Understimated the resilience of the afghan warriors----did not take the terrain into consideration---did not do the job that it was supposed to do right from day one----hired merceneries and criminals---and the worst of all---let its top enemies escape with their lives and familes into the mountains---and there were only a limited number of escape routes----and the leader of the enemy was BLIND IN ONE EYE----who could not have himself hidden in a crowd of a million.

How stupid an army has to be to do something like that----how stupid does a general commanding officer has to be to do something like that---how stupid of a commander in chief of the forces has to be to allow such a thing to have happened.

How stupid the leadership of this military is that it did not close the escape routes of the enemy---.

Now where is @CENTCOM when you need him here.

You are correct. We are the worst military power in the world. Utterly incompetent. Stupid. Bumbling.

I wonder who is going to be next to piss US off to experience our stupidity.

 

[MastanKhan]

You are correct. We are the worst military power in the world. Utterly incompetent. Stupid. Bumbling.

I wonder who is going to be next to piss US off to experience our stupidity.

Well---the Russians are waiting---.They really are itching to have a go---.

Gambit----there is nothing personal----your enemy is still there in afg---your troops cannot walk out a 100 yds out of its bases---you can bomb the population to kingdom come---but you cannot control the land you conquered---where ever you have left or tried to enter recently----that place is in chaos---death and destruction---afg---Iraq---Libya----Syria---.

Being a military man---you got to step back and look at things differenty----it is not all about massive strikes and overwhelming force----it is how when and where to use the force and at what strength level.

There was no finesse in the operation in afg or in Iraq---no brains----no understanding of containing the enemy---the power positioning---situational awareness of what was not happening.

So----when you can use the carpenter's hammer---there is no reason t use the road workers sledge hammer.

 

[Zabaniyah]

From a military perspective, I think the first biggest mistake was their failure to secure or destroy the huge amounts of ordinance that Saddam had. That is where the insurgents got much of their explosives, and that got a lot of people killed. Not saying that each and every explosive material must have been destroyed, but enough so that those madmen won't be able to perform their terror operations.

Second biggest mistake from the political perspective was disbanding the old Iraqi Army. With ex-soldiers on the lose, and no command authority over them, it allowed the insurgents to thrive into what is now ISIS.

If we think about it, the military was acting on orders from Washington at the time, and always will be. So, is it correct to blame the military for the failure?

 

[VCheng]

You are correct. We are the worst military power in the world. Utterly incompetent. Stupid. Bumbling.

I wonder who is going to be next to piss US off to experience our stupidity.

And yet, why is it that the "utterly incompetent and stupid country with a stupid, bumbling and worst military in the world" is the only superpower? Is the rest of the world even worse than that? That does not make sense at all.

 

[Donatello]

And yet, why is it that the "utterly incompetent and stupid country with a stupid, bumbling and worst military in the world" is the only superpower? Is the rest of the world even worse than that? That does not make sense at all.

They are at their limits and the country is broke....gambit may not see it in his life, but American and it's days are numbered......it's the natural order of the world. They want to show their strength, take on the Russian Bear head on or the Dragon in the east.
When Ukraine needed help, America turned a blind eye. If China walks into Taiwan, what would America do? Oh yes, we had this and that understanding, but we can't do shyt
About Iraq or Afghanistan, anyone with F-16s and F-15s can bomb rag tags. No biggie there sir.

 

[VCheng]

They are at their limits and the country is broke....gambit may not see it in his life, but American and it's days are numbered......it's the natural order of the world. They want to show their strength, take on the Russian Bear head on or the Dragon in the east.
When Ukraine needed help, America turned a blind eye. If China walks into Taiwan, what would America do? Oh yes, we had this and that understanding, but we can't do shyt
About Iraq or Afghanistan, anyone with F-16s and F-15s can bomb rag tags. No biggie there sir.

How have you concluded, dear Sir, that USA "are at their limits and the country is broke"? Yes, the natural order dictates that nothing is forever and to every rise there is a fall, but the timelines in this case may be much longer than you might think.

 

[Donatello]

How have you concluded, dear Sir, that USA "are at their limits and the country is broke"? Yes, the natural order dictates that nothing is forever and to every rise there is a fall, but the timelines in this case may be much longer than you might think.

US Dollar.....exporting inflation since 1950s......i don't believe in utopia much......but if a nation like China holds 4 trillion in USD reserves......shyt can get serious anytime.......considering US Dollar in circulation in US Economy is just 1.2 trillion USD.

 

[VCheng]

US Dollar.....exporting inflation since 1950s......i don't believe in utopia much......but if a nation like China holds 4 trillion in USD reserves......shyt can get serious anytime.......considering US Dollar in circulation in US Economy is just 1.2 trillion USD.

The dollar's demise has long been predicted but not materialized yet, has it? Of course things may get serious at any time, but that is also why international geopolitics is always interesting.

 

[Esc8781]

There's a million threads on PDF on ISIS, but I guess this piece is more relevant here.

No, containing ISIL is not “good enough”

Former delta force experience and opinion on how to handle ISIS.

 

[MastanKhan]

From a military perspective, I think the first biggest mistake was their failure to secure or destroy the huge amounts of ordinance that Saddam had. That is where the insurgents got much of their explosives, and that got a lot of people killed. Not saying that each and every explosive material must have been destroyed, but enough so that those madmen won't be able to perform their terror operations.

Second biggest mistake from the political perspective was disbanding the old Iraqi Army. With ex-soldiers on the lose, and no command authority over them, it allowed the insurgents to thrive into what is now ISIS.

If we think about it, the military was acting on orders from Washington at the time, and always will be. So, is it correct to blame the military for the failure?

Hi,

Their first mistake was to disband the Iraqi military----second was to not to own the land they conquered-----third was that they did not take ownership of the law and order situation----they let Iraq get plundered by the looters---all the heritage of Iraq being destroyed and stolen by looters under the very eyes of the American trops---.

Let me re-phrase it----the first mistake was declaring war on Iraq the second time----a totally brainless move.

Well---it shows that being a super power does not necessarily make you a winning fighting force. You can win against nations with a similar industrial base and similar technology----but when fighting against those with much inferior infra structure---things don't pan out as they are anticipated to.

One of the major failure was not to OWN THE LAND THAT WAS CONQUERED and a lack of imposing and forcing law and order in the captured state right from day one.

Here is the thing----U S military does not know how to STAMP ITS AUTHORITY on the nation it has conquered and that is where all the problems stem out of.

Actually it-----the military should know----conquest of Germany and japan----the problem here was that the Generals here had WEAK KNEES and could not stand upto the civilians.

There is another way to look at it---these wars were not designed to be won but a way for the independent contractors to rake in money-----the only problem is that the powers to be never in their wildest imagination could comprehend the aftermath.