Defiantone.com

The current situation in Iraq has been under intense scrutiny and debate for some time. We find it ever more in the spotlight as the democrats and republicans use it against each other for political gain. General Petraeus recently gave testimony to the Armed Services Committee and provided them with this slide. I haven’t had a chance to read through the transcript and frankly I don’t care - what concerns me is the information in the slide.

The slide does paint a rosy picture - but - as we all know - its not that rosy. The Iraqis really need to man up and take this country over. The longer they squabble over power the more detrimental it will be to their long term prosperity. The charts do not give the entire picture as they only provide a limited time line. We’ve been here for 5 years - I want to see the charts for the entire time on the ground.

Unfortunately, the US military presence will continue until the politicians can come to an agreement. Even after the government begins to function and corruption decreases (which I hope it will) the Iraqis will continue to rely on the US military to do things they cannot - Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Combat Search and Rescue, Logistical Support, and Air power.

As bad as I want to see our guys out of the fight - things could fall apart quickly without our help. I just don’t think they are ready despite continued progress - I wonder how longs its going to be before we are done. Waiting sucks - it really does. Its a shame we can’t get the Iraqi government to subcontract our role in their country. How cool would that be? Don’t let them pay us - have them pay Black water, KBR, or whomever they wish. They could regulate and control the situation to their desire until their own military and police forces can handle the country as a whole.

If I had kept track of all of my military travel and could count it for frequent flyer miles I would have more than enough to take a trip to the other side of the planet. In a few months it appears that I will make yet another trip while collecting no miles. Its bound to be a hot and dusty place and I don’t know the location or date nor can I tell you. Odds are that it will be somewhere in ISRAFGHYIANONANAQ. (thank you daily show) I’ll do as I did before and keep on posting what I can. This trip should allow me to pay off another large chunk of credit debt and it allows me to get out of my tiny apartment. These are good things.

Unfortunately, I’m leaving behind a girl that I’m crazy about - I will miss her.

More information as it comes - as long as I can pass it on.

I’ve been sitting idly watching what has been going on in that part of the world and its almost enough to get so mad that you exhaust yourself. I struggle to find any logic or reason for why the violence continues to exist after all of this time. I also struggle to determine why in the world Israel is so retarded. From MSNBC (and the Washington Post) comes an article dubbed “Hezbollah proves formidable foe.” It appears that Hezbollah is not fighting a traditional war with traditional rules. Israel wants to use air power to the largest extent possible but is having trouble fighting this type of battle….

What Israel should have done is watched the news for the past few years. In a little country call IRAQ the US has been fighting a similar battle with the same sort of results. If they would have turned on their television for a minute they would know that fighting idealism is a tough battle. Their belief that eradicating Hezbollah will solve all of their problems is just a “little” flawed.

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I’ve been wondering what the heck is going on in the mid-east… I found a few viewpoints on what is happening. Interesting reads….

check it out

War in the Middle East, Through Israeli, American and Iranian Eyes

Watching American TV in Beirut

Bloodiest day of conflict rocks the Mideast

I would say more but I think they did it better than I could