Col. Hackworth's Opinion on Bush's Exit Strategy

“Article published Feb 20, 2005

Pentagon Is Lying Its Way Out of An Unwinnable War - Again

Col. David Hackworth

"As with Vietnam, the Iraqi tar pit was oh-so-easy to sink into, but appears to be just as tough to exit.

This should be no big surprise! Most slugfests - from bar brawls to military misadventures like Vietnam and Iraq - take some clever moves to step away from once the swinging starts.

This is why most combat vets pick their fights carefully. They look at their scars, remember the madness and are always mindful of the fallout.

That’s not the case in Washington, where the White House and the Pentagon are run by civilians who have never sweated it out on a battlefield. Never before in our country’s history has an administration charged with defending our nation been so lacking in hands-on combat experience and therefore so ignorant about the art and science of war.

Now the increasingly flummoxed Bush team is stealing the page on Vietnamization from Nixon’s Exit Primer, coupled with the same deceitful tactics he used to get us out of the almost decade-long Vietnam quagmire: telling lies.

The Nixon gang kicked off its con in 1969 via a killer of a PR snow job to pacify an American public whose support for the war was exhausted. The guts of this spin show were: We have clobbered the enemy; the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) is main-event material and ready to take over the fighting; and we can bring our troops home. This propaganda was supported by ARVN combat-readiness reports systematically doctored by our brass to show that the units we were advising were good-to-go.

I was on the ground as an adviser to ARVN when the campaign launched, and I was completely floored. Even the elite outfits - Rangers, Special Forces, paratroopers - were not fully capable of defending their country when put to the test. And these gung-ho troops were ARVN’s finest. Average ARVN grunts down in the ordinary infantry divisions were so ineffective that they couldn’t have fought their way out of a day-care center without massive U.S. air support.

Meanwhile, U.S. units started redeploying. Two years after the last grunt climbed on the last silver “freedom bird” and headed home, ARVN folded like a wet noodle.

All that blood, sacrifice and billions of American taxpayer dollars went for naught because politicians hadn’t worked out the endgame before Round One. And then their solution-without-honor was to lie their way out of a no-win war.

Thirty-five years later, President Bush told the nation that Iraq had nine fully trained combat infantry battalions. Just as he was proclaiming the prowess of the Iraqi army, a major in the Iraqi Training Command told me that the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, when committed to their first battle, threw down their weapons and ran. “Not sure where the president is getting his info, but we have only one battalion that’s good-to-go,” he said.

Inquiring minds want to know: Is our president still being fed bad skinny comparable to the intel incorrectly linking Saddam to Sept. 11 or claiming that Iraq was chockablock full of weapons of mass destruction?

More recently, Pentagon hype claimed 140,000 trained and equipped Iraqi troops were set to go toe to toe against an estimated 15,000 insurgents. But when congressional pressure from both Republicans and Democrats lit fires around the feet of both Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, they were quick to admit that only 40,000 Iraqi soldiers were ready to meet the tiger. The rest, according to Myers, “were useful in less-taxing jobs . . . in relatively stable southern Iraq.”

The hard truth is that it takes a good 10 years to build an army from the ground up. And the major emphasis must be placed not on numbers such as how many battalions have been fielded or how ready the recruits are, but rather on good, old-fashioned officer training. Until this happens and the corrupt Iraqi officer leadership - from gold bar to four stars - gets a good scrub, our troops are stuck in the tar.

Bush needs to set up a truth squad directly outside his Oval Office door quicksmart. Then, whenever the Pentagon plays fast and loose with the truth, the liars can be immediately rounded up and punished.

Because lying won’t get our troops out of Iraq without our national security taking a long-term hit that our country simply cannot afford."”

“I remember Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and a host of others talking about how great Col. Hackworth was. I listened to what Col. Hackworth had to say and agreed with him. Heck I even tired to go to a speech he was giving here but tickets were bought up like crazy.

Now it seems that those singing his praises turned against him when he told them what he really thought about the war in Iraq and what kind of job Pres Bush was doing. I still agree with what he says.”

“Yeah, I guess Hackworth has joined the "loony left" and the Bush-Lovin' blabber-mouths are gonna trash him.”

“I think it's funny the way all the liberals have decided to 'love' Hackworth today.
What about tomorrow?
You libs know he didn't think to highly of Clinton-Gore.



Blast form the past:

RE: Cowards
“Clinton-Gore Navy Cutbacks Led to USS Cole Disaster: Hackworth

Cutbacks in U.S. naval forces during the Clinton-Gore administration are responsible for forcing the destroyer USS Cole to refuel in the port of Aden, Yemen, despite the city's reputation as a known terrorist hotbed, defense expert Col. David Hackworth said on Saturday.

Seventeen U.S. sailors are now believed dead after an explosion opened up a 20-by-40-foot gash along the Cole's waterline on Thursday as it docked for refueling.

Hackworth based his assessment on a recent statement by the Navy's chief of operations.

The decorated combat veteran made his comments to WABC radio's Mike Gallagher, who asked about persistent rumors that budget constraints during the Clinton-Gore years have forced the Navy to mothball ships that could have refueled the USS Cole at sea.

GALLAGHER: Does this all go back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in your view?

HACKWORTH: Well, I don't want to politicize a great tragedy, 17 young people dead. [But] when we look at the size of the U.S. fleet when Reagan turned over the reins to Bush and Bush turned it over to Clinton, it was in the range of 520 ships. And now we're down to 320. The chief of naval operations, Admiral Clark, recently said - when the question was put to him, why wasn't this ship refueled at sea - he said, "We don't have enough oilers."

Compounding the problem, said Hackworth, is the Navy's dwindling fleet, a predicament that forced the USS Cole to enter the Aden port without any escort.

"That ship was part of a battle group with a carrier," Hackworth told Gallagher. "It was stripped off from that mission, which was looking after the Middle East, and sent up by itself, with no escort, with no other ships, to go into the Gulf area."

Hackworth said the USS Cole had been dispatched to relieve another ship that was part of the Navy's effort to keep Saddam Hussein in check.”
Baso4
8:06:52 PM
10/16/00”

“With all due respect(choke......gag....sputter....) Stove, that's old news.

Iraq is happening now.”

“MarkO, with all due respect(choke......gag....sputter....) ;-)
It just illustrates the point I was making.

You libs hated the guy a couple of years ago and now 'love' him.
He'll just say something you don't want to hear a few months from now and then you will 'hate' him again.

He's just a paid talking head now.”

“errrr, we don't love him. "you libs" - you really are listen to Rush too much SS ;op”

“Just as with the boy who cried "wolf" so to goes the boy who "bltched Iraq".”

“Stove, ya got it all wrong.

I have read Hackworth's stuff for years and I appreciate his honesty even if I don't like some of what he says.

You really have been programmed by Rush.

I never hated him and I don't really praise him like a cheap flatterer.

I got tired of ready SFTT, it seemed like a forum for right-wing whackos who claim to know exactly what I think and believe.

I'm trying really hard to respect you Stover, and my gag reflex keeps kickin' in....>8^P”

“I try my damnest not to judge someone based on a few internet quotes.
I do judge people on how they treat others, such as personal name calling.”

“MarkO talking about respect is like Jeffrey Dalmer talking about good recipes. They both have a general concept of the idea but it's a very phucked up view of it.”

“Being in the middle of it all, I can tell you that Hackworth was right then and he's right now. He has the guts to say what he thinks, and he has the intellectual honesty to tell either side what it's doing wrong. Unfortunately, the two extremes are so caught up in trying to measure people based on their own beliefs they can't see the truths he speaks.

It's a lot easier to snipe from the sides, isn't it?”

“Wanna here my Exit strategy in regards to Bush?”

“BM - I thought you only had an entrance strategy. Does your exit strategy involve breakfast?”

“So, Stove, if the Libs hated him in the past, does that make what he says now moot?”

“Exiting is the dangerous part.”

“I'd love to HERE that BearMag. Where ya gonna tell us? Right HEAR?”

“The internet can kiss my ass. I've gone from terrible speller to horrible speller. My grammer aint got no better either. If anything its gotten a lot worster.”

“Nigal is correcting BM's spelling (giggle)”

“Hey Geobeet, why is any critisism from your POV considered patriotic accountability but any from the conservatives is just taking shots from the side?”

““Nigal is correcting BM's spelling (giggle)”

Eye no, isnt it gr8?”

“Hey Geobeet, why is any critisism from your POV considered patriotic accountability but any from the conservatives is just taking shots from the side?”
Nigal
8:30:49 PM
2/22/05

So hopefully he will correct critisism with no help from me.
last edited: 2/22/05 7:35:45 PM”

“I made the Rush connection cos you hear it from him and his nasty ilk all the time. Liberals think this, liberals say that, liberals want the other.
It's been a tactic of these commentators for many years to try and group anyone left of them together in a single group and poke fun at them. Some are gullable enough to fall for it.”

“WTF is "cos" Y2?”

“You can't play that liberal-backing-Clinton- card on me. Clinton and his Sec of Defense Les Aspin were directly responsible for the deaths of 18 Rangers in Somolia. I said that back when it happened and I'll say the same thing today. Hackworth ragged Clinton back then and he's on Bush's case now. When it comes military matters and specifically incompetent brass or civilian leadership he doesn't pull the punches. It doesn't matter which party is in power. That's consistency.
>
You on the other hand seem to be selective in your criticism. I'll bet you gave Clinton hell over the Cole bombing. But nothing Bush has done wrong (and he's done plenty) gets any criticism from the Hannitys, Limbaughs and true believers like yourself.
>
Your position is hypocritical.
last edited: 2/22/05 9:19:01 PM”

“When it comes military matters and specifically incompetent brass or civilian leadership he doesn't pull the punches

You should have a "to" between "comes" and "military".”

“Thanks bearmagnet. I always wanted a grammar correction program but could never afford one. Would you do the same thing for me on several other websites I visit?”

“Naw......
I'm just pointing out the Left's selective use of Hackworth.
Only thing I've said about him is he's a talking head.
The rest is just assumptions about me by the lefties.”

“Thank Nigal. He showed me the importance of proper spelling and grammer right here!”

“I'm just pointing out the Left's selective use of Hackworth.
Only thing I've said about him is he's a talking head.

StoveStomper
10:33:32 PM
2/22/05


SS, what is the difference between the left's or right's selective use of Hackworth's remarks? SH and you both posted selective remarks he made.

He is a talking head now but both sides use him to their advantage. He is more than just your avg. talking head. He has been in a war, he has seen stuff we probably can't even imagine. I rather listen to what he has to say than someone who has no idea on the subject.
last edited: 2/22/05 10:55:06 PM”

“SS, what is the difference between the left's or right's selective use of Hackworth's remarks.
Ewker
11:50:24 PM
2/22/05

Ewker - I think you need a question mark at the end of that sentence?
last edited: 2/22/05 10:52:47 PM”

“ok thanks, I fixed it”

“LOL!

You're welcome. But I think proper English would require (forgetting that you didn't capitalize or put a period on your "sentence"; "ok thanks, I fixed it");

I have fixed the problem. Thank you for noticing the error.”

““SS, what is the difference between the left's or right's selective use of Hackworth's remarks.
Ewker
11:50:24 PM
2/22/05

Ewker - I think you need a question mark at the end of that sentence?
last edited: 2/22/05 10:52:47 PM”
Bearmagnet
10:52:25 PM
2/22/05

LOL
Where did I imply there was a difference?
You are making incorrect assumptions again.”

“SS, since you have me on ignore you didn't read all of my statement. So you are making assumptions based on what BM copied and pasted”

“Now settle down there BearMag. We all make mistakes. LOL!”

““I try my damnest not to judge someone based on a few internet quotes.
I do judge people on how they treat others, such as personal name calling.”
StoveStomper
3:40:26 PM
2/22/05

Dang Stove, I thought you enjoyed a little razzin'.
I guess you're the sensitive kind.
No more name-callin'.........I promise!

I have found Hackworth's stuff interesting and I respect his honesty.
(Didn't I already say that?)

His criticism of the last four presidents has been right on.

Hackworth is the one who turned me on to Gen. Smedley Butler(USMC ret.....now dead) and the "War Is A Racket" thing.

Butler's thing is all about the Military Industrial Congressional Complex from a 1933 point of view.”

“I'm having a hard time with it, Nigal.

MarkO - your post is impeccable
last edited: 2/23/05 8:23:09 AM”

“MarkO, haven't you figured it out? SS can only do the razzin no one else can. If you do it it is name calling.”

“Thanks, Bearmagnet!!!!
(catholic school, ya know!)”

“I can't remember SS doing any name calling. He has his own style and he has lines he won't cross. What's wrong with that?”

“In first grade we were part of a 3 yr. experiment in learning to spell phonetically, using those weird symbols in the dictionary as our alphabet.

WhoTF thought that would help????

Of course, our 3 classes became renowed for our inability to spell up through High School graduation. Seems some damage is irreversible.

Ahhhhhhhhh. education in the 70's. Stoned teachers coming up with revolutionary learning techniques.”

“Yeah SS is an alright guy. He's got his facts a little mixed up but we'll straighten him out over the next several years. I've never seen him use profanity (like me) and he owns a Optimus 99 so ....... I'd hike with him.

BTW Nigal and SS. I'm still proposing a Optimus 99 trip and cookoff in GSMNP sometime this fall. It could wind up being the East Coast trip of the year that shouldn't be missed. Are you guys game?
Well for the trip part anyway. If you guys show for the cookoff you won't stand a chance. My O-99 chili or shrimp etouffe will kick some serious a$$.”

“Is the Optimus 99 like the SVEA 123???

I gotta fix mine.”

“SVEA 123s and O-99s are like brothers and sisters. The 123s, 8Rs, etc, would all be invited. Anything over 20 years old or so. That will be the rule. Of course that sort of eliminates MSR stuff. Nothing they make would last that long.
last edited: 2/23/05 11:57:30 AM”

“Screw MSR!!!

Nuttin' but Swedes!!

Can I bring SVEN SAW?”

“http://www.thebackpacker.com/pictures/album/mq4oyst8.php
Optimus 99

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
The Shame!!!!!!!
A perfectly good fuero thread becomes a GEAR thread!!!! ;-)”

“Stove, I feel your pain!




By the way......shouldn't it be "Exit Strategery"??
last edited: 2/23/05 12:02:21 PM”

“I agree SS is a nice guy no doubts about that. But don't dish it out then put people on ignore because they hand it back to you.”

“"Clinton and his Sec of Defense Les Aspin were directly responsible for the deaths of 18 Rangers in Somolia."

... and Aspin resigned over it.

Rumsfeld is doing a SUPERB job.”