ARTICLE: "Now on YouTube: Iraq Videos Of U.S. Troops Under Attack," by Edward Wyatt, New York Times, 6 October 2006, p. A1.Our morale taking a hit on YouTube? Losing that 4GW venue?
ARTICLE: "U.S. Casualties in Iraq Rise Sharply: Growing American Role in Staving Off Civil War Leads to Most Wounded Since 2004," by Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 8 October 2006, p. A1.
ARTICLE: "G.O.P.’s Baker Hints Iraq Plan Needs Change, " by David E. Sanger, New York Times, 9 October 2006,
ARTICLE: "Rumsfeld Shift Lets Army Seek Larger Budget," by Thom Shanker and David S. Cloud, New York Times, 8 October 2006.
I honestly don't think so. I think the nation needs to get a whole lot more honest and realistic about what this Long War will involve.
You can argue Iraq-or-not. But you can't argue that we won't face this battlespace time and time again in the future. The questions are locale and timing only.
So is it wrong to show our troops fighting and dying?
No.
We live in an age of hyper-reality, and people expect not to be shielded from anything. By letting the floodgates open on such images and video, we connect the American public to the sacrifices of the troops, and if those sacrifices seem like the result of too few troops, then so much the better. If a change in policy is needed (like more multilateralism on Iraq, as I'm sure Baker will advocate), then so much the better. If the Army needs a bigger budget, then so much the better.
Pretending you can insulate the American public from this knowledge gives our enemies the potential for 4GW victories over our morale. Continuing yesterday's post, by making all this far more transparent, we change the conditions of observation, making transparency our greatest asset.
Things need to change.
Transformation of American air power is consummated. The Leviathan is as slim as it needs to be. Rummy was right.
But the transformation of American ground power is embryonic at best. The SysAdmin is starved and neglected and isn't what it needs to be. Shinseki was right. Petraeus and Mattis and Abizaid and Schoomaker are right--and getting harder to ignore.
The need to find villians on our side for everything won't go away, but it should. This isn't about killing the Leviathan so the SysAdmin can live, but simply rebalancing the force for the Long War ahead.
A great quote from the Army budget story:
“Do we lower our strategy, or do we raise our resources?” said the official, who was given anonymity to discuss budget deliberations. “That’s where we’re at.”The more honest we are with ourselves, the better.
This isn't about making the next war go better, but making sure we can manage the next opportunity for post-whatever peace.
In America, we love to confront our problems and our insecurities head-on. Some of it's Oprah, and some of it's "Law and Order" and "C.S.I." Making transparent that which scares us is good.
As with most things in life, it's all about getting there first. Here, it's the sense of being realistic about the road that lies ahead.
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