the defeatists!

Another take on the whole Afghanistan thing...

For a left-wing commie, pinko lesbian Rachel Maddow is pretty pro soldier. However, she made excuses tonight for the failure of the military to have VIPs at the opening of a trauma center, saying that this was because the military is in chaos over the McChrystal Balls-up. Sorry, doesn't fly -- Afghanistan Command has a perfectly competent commander with three stars who can run things until the congress gets around to confirming the Four Star who used to supervise McChrystal and dreamed up this counter-insurgency nonsense anyway. Bethesda is a pretty short helicopter ride away from the Pentagon, the White House and the VA. The best way to assure the world that everything is normal is to act like everything's normal. Because it is -- if McChrystal had a brain anyuerism on one of his ten mile daily runs, do you think this same level of nonsense would be going on? Generals are important, but not that important...

COIN is starting to feel a lot like Vietnamization, and if you're not familiar with the term, I recommend re-reading David Halberstram's The Best and the Brightest. Or reading it. Read Street without Joy too, while you're at it. Or, read some of the stuff about the Soviet adventure...

However, as I have mentioned before, in an alternative existence I write for another site under another, assumed name. It is not Gordon Duff. Gordon is more of a legitimate journalist than I could ever conceivably be. I'm not a journalist; I'm not sure what I am, but I'm not one of them. He writes well, and has spent a fair amount of time on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan and in other mid-eastern and Asian Garden Spots. His take on this particular goat rodeo/snake fuck is evolving, but worth looking at and considering for perspective and insight. He also reminded me of something...

McChrystal held on, for awhile at least.  With the billions in drug money floating around, floating into so many pockets, buying everyone in sight, no report will come out, certainly not from Holbrooke nor especially from the CIA.  Wouldn’t it be nice to hear, “I coudn’t take it anymore.  I didn’t sign up to be a security guard at a whore house.”  But that isn’t true, that is exactly the job Stanely McChrystal did sign up for.  With a bit more talent, he could have played piano.  If being a “Special Operations” guy working for Dick Cheney with his personal death lists, doesn’t make one immune to the smell of sewage, I can’t imagine what would.

Gordon's point is one that I find troubling. He seems to think that McChrystal set this up as a way of getting fired -- going to Obama and Petraeus and admitting that the whole thing was a total clusterfuck for which he bore some of the blame and that he couldn't work with Holbrooke and Eichenberry because they were clueless, egotistical clowns and that after 10 years of holding Karzai's dick, the guy still couldn't piss straight. He makes a pretty salient point about COIN and where we are in Afghanistan at the moment -- the only Afghani we're sure isn't Taliban is Karzai.

Gordon reminds us that MickeyC led the cover-up on the Pat Tillman affair. While I think his conspiratorial view of how that particular tragedy happened is a bit paranoid, I have to remember who the ultimate master of disaster was -- Dick Cheney and the Bush propaganda machine. I don't think Tillman's own unit would have killed him; but, who the hell knows. It was a friendly fire incident; they did really screwy things to cover it up; there was a lot of lead flying around.

I'm sure the General's memoirs will be interesting.

What the hell were they thinking? They weren't...

I was not impressed with the way the administration fired the general in charge of Afghanistan before Mcchrystal. Hell, MickeyC came in and immediately started saying the same stuff the previous guy said. Nor, as a grunt, was I ever that impressed with Special OPS Senior Leaders when they moved out of their comfort zones. Since they replaced a highly competent general officer with a guy who'd been running Black Ops for a long time, what the hell? Egos amongst General Officers are huge -- you're at the top of a highly competitive profession where in fact they do kill the weak and wounded. So, having Rolling Stone come along to listen in probably seemed like a good idea to somebody. The Boss obviously runs his mouth when he's relaxed, and his staff of hard charging Special OPs guys run their mouths. The boss says something and everybody else says something worse.

Now, I too have been offered new opportunities because of my irrepressible wit and joie de vivre...or, to be honest, because I have at times been too blunt, too direct and too goddamn stupid to shut up. Sometimes I wish I had shut up; sometimes I'm proud I didn't. Recently heard that a former sniveling subordinate was bragging that he got me fired by telling people at sector about things I said. Weasels abound; doesn't bother me. We need to remember that people in the military are people. As Luther said, "On the highest throne, you sit firmly on your own ass..." And, people will badmouth the boss; people who like their boss will badmouth their boss' boss. It's part of Homo Bureaucraticus. What I find interesting is that the General --according to Cosmo -- according to Women -- reached out to apologize to Joe Biden about the bite me crack before Biden had read the article. That shows some grace. I also suspect that he was pretty much convinced that he needed to resign before Obama accepted the letter. Screwed up, my fault, I won't be a pain in the ass because you're right. I find that refreshingly courageous, candid, competent and committed. Army values.

One thing I found disconcerting on the MSNBC coverage was Jonathan Alter's comment that Obama will tell people, "Do this and that's an order..." Chris Matthews chimed in that military folks he had talked to indicated that if you told people that something was an order, you weakened it. Well, yeah -- no shit. If I tell you to come here, I expect you to come here. If you don't come here, there's a problem. If I clarify that I'm really telling you to come here, I'm giving you and order, if you don't do it there will be consequences...you should know all that already. You do know all that already. You just don't believe it or you don't care. Perhaps the President is used to a more collegial environment where the executive has to assert his authority at times. Problem is, he's the President of the United States. He has the authority -- if he tells soldiers to do something, they'll probably do it if it's legal, moral and possible. Congressman, foreign diplomats, governors -- not so much. Subordinates serving at the President of the United States are a different story. If he wants to weaken his message, well, that's up to him.

So, the General leaves with dignity; Petraeus agrees to a demotion -- although one Four Star billet is the same as another one in a lot of ways -- and the poor bastard grunts continue to do their jobs, wishing that the generals remembered what it was like humping a rucksack up a mountain while getting shot at.

I'm just curious...and, it probably has something to do with everybody's frustration here...just what the hell is the end state supposed to look like? Jeffersonian democracy is not about to break out in the tribal areas; the opium farmers and drug cartels aren't going to find Jesus. Hell, I wonder if they even have found Mohammed.

What cold hell is this?

Ok, your son enlists in the Marines. He goes to war. He dies...you deal with it, kind of. Comes time for the funeral, and in addition to the honor guard and the bugler, you get to have a mob of Jesus-Juiced-Up-Troglodytes screaming at you, your family and your dead son and all his dead and shattered brothers and sisters because "Jesus hates fags..." This being the United States, a constitutional government that your son died for in some pissant Arab shitbox, you know they have a right to free speech, but this seems really too much. You take legal action, using the court system. There has to be some sort of protection for you and your family from these reptiles.Then, this happens --

Albert Snyder got a bill for $16,500 on Friday — the latest result of his ongoing legal battle with the Westboro Baptist Church. Church members are seeking to recoup costs from federal appeals court, which dismissed Snyder’s lawsuit against them. Snyder’s lawyer, Sean Summers, said the court declared last week that Snyder was responsible for the costs.

Efforts to reach an official from Westboro Baptist Church were unsuccessful Monday.

Such mandated reimbursements are common after appellate court cases, Summers said. When the U.S. Supreme Court hears Snyder’s case in the fall, its decision will ultimately make a big difference as to whether or not Snyder can eventually recoup that money, Summers said. “It’s rubbing salt in an open wound,” Summers said.

Well, it's always interesting to see the conflict between free speech and civilization roll and tumble. Unfortunately, it may or may not be right. This is pretty definitely not right. While this routine finding should be overturned by the court -- I suspect the Founders would have been split, but this is where Franklin and Adams and common sense would have applied and ideology be damned. Washington would probably have horsewhipped Mr. Phelps and his ilk -- the fact that the Court of Appeals found in favor of these disgusting scum suckers is troubling.

Like it or not, this is a political trial and a trial for civilization. Our civilization -- now, whether it's fat teenage chicks in leatherlink spandex tights rioting for Black Cherry Mochas with extra chocolate but with soy or John Boenher's sun tan, our civilization is pretty much fucked over anyway. However, we have a tradition in the West of honoring our dead and protecting their remains from sacrilege and desecration. One of my biggest complaints against the Clinton administration as both a serving soldier at the time, as a citizen, and as a man is that the Somalians never paid for desecrating the bodies of Mike Durant's crew and the two Delta Force soldiers who volunteered to go to the most dangerous place on that battlefield. Naplaming Mogadishu would have been a start. If that had happened, it would probably have done more for the folks there than anything else done since. It's a problem of boundaries... Allow someone to cross the damn things, and be prepared for bad things to happen.

The only redeeming factor in this disaster is that Mr. Snyder isn't alone. While it would be much more satisfying to bitchslap Fred Phelps and Friends back to the slime pits of Kansas, I strongly suggest that you Read this and using one of the mechanisms, give to the Al Snyder legal defense fund. No excuse for any vet not to...

The young man who died was 20 years old, a Marine Lance Corporal. He died to protect the rights of Mr. Phelps; the war he died in is irrelevant. The sacrifice stands on its own merits. As does the Reverend Phelps. This is a chance to push back, and we should. Hard. If there is divine justice, I have a pretty good idea as to what God has planned for Freddie and his Dreamers...an eternal buttfucking.

That ain't flying...

Crusader AXE was worried that the world was running out of this sort of thing...you know, ethnic and religious cleansing. And the news that the VA has found a new way to treat PTSD by killing sufferers really should warm the cockles of the Teaparty/No Taxation/People Are Unemployed Because they wannabe movement. At last, a government agency is taking action against all these sniveling assholes.  You know, the one's with Bronze Stars and multiple awards of the Purple Heart. Bastards ought to find Jesus and all move to Nigeria.

Dogfaced soldier

Most time spent in the field, combat, training, or just "fun" has what that great American Jethro Gibbs referred to in one episode as the "minty fresh smell of urine." Piss, shit, blood and sweat, dirt and fear. If you can remember that, you might have something worthwhile to say about military affairs. I'm not talking about strategy or realpolitik here, just what it takes to actually fight, prepare to fight, or come home. Gordon Duff, former Marine Grunt and writer-analyst-contractor and general bon vivant has exactly that sort of memory . His pieces appear every few days and Crusader AXE strongly recommends them. The linked piece is aimed at providing perspective on Afghanistan from a Vietnam era grunts point of view. However, the tale is far deeper than that.
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None of us know each other, the military from today, those who fought in Desert Storm or Grenada and the aging and shrinking group from Vietnam, represented typically by rear eschelon blowhards, phonies or psychos.  If troops today learned early on not to listen to Vietnam vets, I would call that decision “reality based.”

Increasingly, Afghanistan is taking on the look of Vietnam.  It is an unpopular war, a war whose purpose and goals are now in question and even disrepute.  Welcome to my world.  Vietnam was a purists dream, dumb built on dumb.  58,000 initially and another 200,000 or much more not so long afterwards died in and after Vietnam, a war with little purpose than to amuse defense contractors and set the stage for America to do alot of business with the Communists we claimed we were going to save the world from.

From day one, ariving in Vietnam, it was obvious.  The war was a joke, a deadly joke and our own military was corrupt beyond imagination.  Nobody cared so long as TV was still TV back home and someone else did the dying. 

Now, the old guys who fought in Vietnam are told that today’s soldiers look down on us for being cowardly, unprofessional and uncommitted to the protection of Christian values and American honor.  I don’t know this to be true, but veterans of Vietnam hear it alot, hear it constantly.

Does any of this matter?  Not hardly.

First of all, as an admirer of great rhetoric, you gotta love this. It matters intensely, and it's the problem he addresses. Soldiers are not learning from the past, from each other, and are making the same mistakes. I am not talking about grand strategy here...I'm talking about life.  In Rome, (Oh crap, here goes AXE again on that Dulce et decorum est kick...), when lawyers got up to argue cases or politicians got up to speak, they would literally toss their togas aside and tear open their tunics to show their scars. This made it hard for Cicero at times because he didn't have a lot of scars; but Anthony and Caesar and Cato were covered in the damn things. (Anthony might have been the Scott Brown of Roman Tea Party, but he was afforded attention because he's risked his life for the nation. Perhaps that was a bad idea in the long run. I could picture Anthony offering his daughters as available; I could picture him sucking up to John McCain. Anthony would drive a pickup truck, but it would be a totally tricked out Escalade Sport, towing a trailer full of concubines and wine. Which he would share...)

The reason underlying this was simple if not thought of or fully articulated. In the Rome where everyman was supposed to be a warrior at heart, credibility depended on the ability to be a warrior in fact. I'm not sure that was a good idea; as the reality of the warrior-ness became less, the phony martial exploits of the rulers got to be more. For every Marcus Aurelius, there was at least one Commodus.

Anyway, Veterans organizations are generally refuges for the Marcus Antonious' amongst us, as well as the wannabes, never weres and those who can not find meaning in their lives except by wrapping the flag around them and shoving Liberty's torch up their own ass. There are good reasons for this; lots of people don't want to remember what they did, how they lived or how they felt...whether that was in Pusan, Khe Sanh, Grenada, Beirut, Mogadishu or Tora Bora. I had to listen to a lot of blowhards over the years, and I am reluctant to go spend an evening bathed in cigarette smoke and beer fumes. I'm a dues-paying member of several Vet organizations and respond to their opinion surveys; but, I went to my first American Legion meeting and they immediately tried to elect me to a leadership position because nobody else wanted it. I demurred right out the door...

So, people don't talk to each other and know each other across generations. That may be inevitable, and isn't a lot different than the rest of society. Still...why is this relevant? Well, Duff makes the point very clear.

Few of us know what is going on in Afghanistan.  We are told our t-shirts are replaced with body armour, the weapons work better and food is no longer 30 year old c-rations.  However, if the military tells me something I have learned not to believe it even if I see it myself.  Nearly half the Marine grunts that served in Vietnam died there or soon after.  None of it was necessary and none of it our fault. 

I only wish the billions we spend on these wars actually went to arm and protect you as we mean it to and not into the pockets of the thieves.  If you are trained, equipped and led well, good.  If not, make sure we know.  This is still a democracy and it is our job to see to it that you aren’t used up like so many of us were.

Sadly, we also know we have failed at this too.   400,000 recent vets are in line for VA benefits.  I am thinking that this is a message of some kind and I don’t think it is because they love filling out forms and being humiliated by Army and VA doctors. (AXE commentary: I don't have big problems with Army docs; there are specialties that tend to be problematic. Orthopedic surgeons for example, are accused of being uncaring and cold by other doctors.  However, my VA doctors have another story entirely...they appear to have become successful VA doctors because they lack the necessary bedside manner to be pathologists.)

Duff's conclusion is pretty strong stuff. It's isn't wrong; it might be a tad extreme, but if I've watched leaders going out of their way to be reasonable for a while, and look what it's gotten us.

Alot of us back here, most of us I think by now, want you back home and believe we have asked too much already.  I think asking you to fix Afghanistan is too much.  Do not die in the process.

You have walked into the middle of a 500 year old war made complex by tons of geopolitical game playing, corruption and dumb American politics.  I can’t figure it out and I am supposed to know about this stuff.  If someone else tries to tell you, just nod, say  “yes sir” and think to yourself, “another arrogant dumb shit.” Do work to hold back one of those patriotic military cheer things that is supposed to build camaraderie.  It is only a con to make you obedient.  It is all about social pressure.  Start reading about feudalism and you will understand the military very well.If those of us back here were better people, you would be coming home to a rich country, good jobs and a people united.  Instead, you are likely to find alot of whining, finger pointing and moaning.  If you find yourself feeling superior, you may be right.  Ouch.

Read the column. If you use reader, mark it. And, if you're not a Vet, buy one a cup of coffee whenever you get a chance. It's a chance to connect, and you should be humbled by the gratitude.

Meanwhile, back in another dimension...

Nation-building. Without a plan. Priceless. One of my general officer friends, announcing that he's having an experimental procedure done for a heart problem admited that "Hope is not a plan. But, sometimes it's the only possible course of action." Iraq is going to be our Parthia, eventually. Meantime, well, it's not. Twenty years from now, people will be crying about how we deserted Iraq to go to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, back in Defeatist central, we're dancing to this...

Getting something right, without any credit

One of the pieces of my work as a soldier was telling my soldiers that a family member had died and helping get them home. It was frustrating and hard -- First Sergeant AXE having to call or knock on a door and giving them the news. And, listening to the reaction, and trying to be a comfort while at the same time trying to be practical and do what needed to be done. I never had to tell a family member that a soldier had died...I avoided that hell.

The services invited senior NCOs to return to active duty from retirement to work notifications a few years ago. The thought of putting on my blues again and assisting families crossed my mind as a far more worthwhile thing to do than I was doing, but I ultimately decided to pass on that honor. I was angry enough and am not good at doing the insincere/sincere shuffle that representing the Secretary of the Army in that role would entail. Answering the questions with "I don't know, I'm sorry..." Did they suffer? Did they cry out? Why?..I'm not a "I don't know" kinda guy. Did they suffer -- I hope not. Probably did. Did they cry out? Most wounds don't kill outright. If you're not in shock or unconscious, the John Wayne stoicism is hard to maintain when you've been disemboweled. Not that I know that they were disemboweled. I'm sorry. Really. Why? Well, oil, hubris, stupidity got them there. Loyalty, duty and trust is why they fought. Take comfort in that...I'm sorry.
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I believe that the fact that the Air Force and the the Obama administration have done some things to improve the situation for the families at Dover something that obviously can't give anyone a boost in the polls, but it should. You can talk as much as you want about supporting the troops, but the Obama administration seems to actually be doing it. And, assisting the families while honoring the fallen is an incredible improvement. Since the Romans, Armies have been great at honoring the dead -- hell, probably long before the Romans. Families are a relatively recent problem, and one that Armies aren't all that good at helping. We're great on ceremonies, and they have meaning and impact. But, the practicalities aside, sometimes we're pretty obtuse.

Hey, one of the ways we learn -- people, human beings, citizens -- is by comparison and contrast. From the Times:

Since April 2009, the first month of a Pentagon policy that allowed news coverage of the transfers, the remains of 366 service members from Iraq and Afghanistan have passed through Dover, the main point of entry for the nation’s war dead to return home. They have been met by more than 1,000 family members, whose travel and lodging expenses to Dover are paid for by the military.

Under the old policy, photographs of the flag-draped cases were banned, family travel expenses were not paid to Dover and loved ones were not encouraged to come. The new policy allows families to say no to the news coverage; the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation Center at Dover said that 56 percent have said yes.

"The families were not encouraged to come." "They have been met by more than 1,000 family members, whose travel and lodging expenses to Dover are paid for by the military." Old versus new. Compare and contrast. It's a small thing in the overall scheme of things, but who cares about the soldiers and the families for real? And, who wants to score points?  Obama probably did not have to worry about the AXE's vote over whomever the Republicans decide to run -- but, this bit of humanity shown to soldiers and their families should cement it. For ever, from everyone who may face a loss, or has faced one, or has had to answer those horrible questions...with the answer, "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Well, then there is this...

If you don't hate the guy you're trying to kill, it's hard to kill him. The most hateful are not those killed in battle or as collateral damage. They are the ones who never risk, and yet cause the destruction. I was a soldier, and I am proud of it. Yet, there is a lot of truth in this, and while the racism charge strikes the AXE as somewhat overstated, the fact remains -- war is not kum by yah, it's "come here so I can kick your ass..." which is not a sentiment based in love and peace and justice. Be glad that there are those who are willing to do the Colonel Jessup thing and stand on that wall...but be aware, the enemy may well not be on the other side of the wall...

Tell me how this is going to work out for you...

Well, if you take a bunch of young, physically fit and stressed out young people and toss them in a holding pen...err, Forward Operating Base...and only let them out so they can get shot it, shit happens. The Russians countered this one by having whorehouses, and I'm sure KBR or XE would be glad to stock a couple. Actually, I'm waiting for the firestorm of protest. About 20 years ago, General Julius Becton as a Corps Commander in Europe got relieved and his career trajectory went way south when he said that if a first term soldier became pregnant in Europe she should be discharged. Or, get an abortion. Europe 20 years ago was as close to a war zone as we had...and, pregnant soldiers were a problem for readiness. Still are, but what the hell. Women and men have sex, and sometimes things happen differently than planned.

So, I happen to think this is silly. If we can't follow the policy of getting pregnant soldiers out of their as soon as the chain knows about it, then we shouldn't assign women in zones where that seems imperative. This is as silly a response to biology as I have heard lately...

I'm sure that the abortion thing was probably thought about, various congressional issues examined and the solution guaranteed to make the chain of command look most stupid was selected in lieu of even offering in-country abortions. The fact that the perceived problem results from lack of soldiers to fight and kill as a result of enforcing the policy is mildly ironic. We can't consider abortion as a solution to the lack of enough people to kill other people...yet, our solutions seem to always revolve around "killing more people." I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but we ought to address this issue philosophically and pragmatically.

AXE's first corollary to the principles of AXEism is "If you have to be a jerk, don't be a jerkoff..." violated here in soooo many ways...and here, guaranteed to earworm everybody to death is this classic of jerkoff soft pop/rock/nostalgia...

Waist deep and turn around, there we are again...

Armed Iranians invade Iraq? Isn't this sort of where we came in under Reagan? While I should probably write a thoughtful piece on this one, fuck 'em. Both. It's either 1939 or the Mouse that roared...I think that Islam is crazier than Christianity for the most part, and that the Iranian mullahs and madmen are, well, bat shit crazy madmen and mullahs. But, I do not think they are stupid. Everybody -- NATO, Russia, the Arabs, and on and on and on would love to fuck over Iran. Are we going to now find ourselves in the odd position of defending Iraqi sovereignty? Seriously, it's all been done before...