Waiting

from Military Officer, March 2008, p.96

Practical politics consist of ignoring facts
--Henry Adams

We must have strong minds,
ready to accept facts as they are
--Harry S. Truman

If you love something, set it free.
If it doesn't return, hunt it down and kill it
--60's military saying

And what it all comes down to
Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet
I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving the peace sign
--I've Got One Hand in My Pocket,
Alanis Morrisette
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War is institutionalized insanity, and this photo and accompanying story depict the insanity of the Iraq war and U.S. tactics employed therein. The only thing missing from this picture is the popcorn.

Fact: One lone insurgent stalled the Marine's advance for a full day.

Fact: The lone insurgent definitely had a pre-planned escape route and rear security, even if the Marines were unaware of it.

Fact: The insurgent escaped because the Marines broke contact to allow jets to do their job. Jets and bombs are not designed for killing lone gunmen and if they are, the world of infantry combat is turned on its head.

If a unit in contact does not pin down the insurgents they will always escape before the bombs are dropped. Just think what these Marines would have done is there were two insurgents.

Even if the hostile had a belt-fed machine gun or even a 50 calibre, this is not something that can tie down an entire unit. Since there was only one he could have been be dealt with tactically in a number of ways. So, why the reliance on air power that is not tactical in nature?

Bombing a building is not the measure of success -- killing the enemy is. This essay is not a support of killing insurgents, but an attempt to show the inappropriateness of this combat response.

We are either there to destroy a nation or to build a nation. You can't do both with the same mission sentence.

When defending it is essential to have interlocking, mutually-supportive fires. To do otherwise is militarily inconsequential. Fire and movement and attacks with combined arms will always overcome a single shooter.

This story says: the Marines were unwilling to press the assault. It's a hell of a way to run a war.