Yes, I see what you are saying and I must, in my limited knowledge of things war/military, agree.

In today’s world we could not just go in there and level the place, the people be damned so we pound them into dust (as we did in WWII) … Not in the PC world, and in a world with a vampire news media that lives to put blood on display … especially blood drawn by American forces, combate enemy or innocent civilians … doesn’t matter. If it bleeds and we did it it is/was wrong.

Rummy knew he was straddling the art of war from mid/late 20th century and the modern art of war rife with politics at home and abroad in the beginning of the 21st century that will possibly take us through most of this new century. With an undefined and unrecognizable enemy our forces have to move quicker and more stealthily (if that makes sense). Our forces have to take “lean mean fighting machine” to a new level.

For all his successes and , his perceived missteps, mistakes, short comings, Rummy had/did a job no one in their right mind would have wanted to do. And I would state that he did the best he could … As the Iraq War progressed it morphed into other challenges, styles, problems. And while I hated to see Rummy go, especially having the certain people who could not possibly appreciate what he did spitting and pissing on him, I do agree he had done all he could in this war and someone with new concepts to face the new situations we have created was a right choice. Rummy’s work was done … and if real and honest writers of history are brave enough to write it, they will show Rummy’s successes.

The Legacy Force are the heavy infantry and tank formations that were the units which drove through the Iraqis like the proverbial hot knife. Batiste’s answer was to =pour in twice the amount of troops and _subdue_ the populace. I honestly don’t think he ever understood how politically impossible it would have been to mobilize _all_ of our National Guard Separate Brigades to do that.

And I don’t think it would have worked.

We always needed a Civil Affairs approach that required a safe environment. That’s what Petraeus argued for…and eventually got.

NOT being of the military myself, I found it my civilian duty to trust that our military would stay committed to the mission(s), stick through the tough times, and never take their eye off the goal post ahead. And all they asked of us was support and patience enough to let them “do their job” …

A damn pity some people failed ‘them’ … most especially in the government.