Knee Jerk

And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "The Cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?

Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again
--Green Fields of France,
Dropkick Murphys version
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Ranger's letter-to-the-editor was published in his local paper today, and is re-published below. It was in response to a piece by Capt. Hsia in the same paper about clearing and re-clearing insurgents ("Debate Iraq Strategy, Not Troop Numbers"):

U.S. strategy in Iraq is knee-jerk at best

"It is an extreme kindness to call U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan a "strategy." In fact, U.S. policy is knee-jerk, piecemeal reaction contingent upon the adversaries' actions, as well as those of the "friendly" Iraqi government. Reacting to tactical crises on a daily basis is not a strategy.

"Jumping reactively through ad-hoc hoops is a sign of loss of initiative on the part of the U.S. military. Lacking initiative, there is never a victory.

"Not only does the U.S. lack clearly defined objectives, it also lacks a clear definition of the adversary. Against whom and why are we expending combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan?

"Capt. Hsia's article is a fine company-level assessment of the situation on the ground, but it stops short of drawing the obvious conclusion: U.S. forces must evacuate both countries and allow the local populations to decide their own destiny, for better or worse.

"Providing security to Iraqi citizens is not the mission of the U.S. military. The security of America is not contingent on peaceful streets in Baghdad."