So How Do We Choose?

[scoober78]

Follow the Money

Thanks for that insightful and thorough contribution to the conversation...would you like to explain what it is you are talking about or just let us guess?

 

[scoolbubba]

The fat man walks alone.

 

[Brett327]

The fat man walks alone.

Michael has a long mustache.

 

[scoober78]

Michael has a long mustache.

The chair is against the wall.

Love it. Can't wait for the remake. <Red Dawn threadjack out>

 

[Brett327]

These lines were stolen from "The Longest Day" (where they were uttered in French) but I suspect they have their origins with the actual French Resistance.

 

[scoober78]

These lines were stolen from "The Longest Day" (where they were uttered in French) but I suspect they have their origins with the actual French Resistance.

Ooops...well, Red Dawn stole them...

 

[phrogpilot73]

The chair is against the wall.

Is a frog's ass watertight?

OK, not in a movie... But it should be!

 

[usmarinemike]

Personally, I think the Powell Doctrine's biggest weakness is it's unsuitability in addressing non-state actors. It is a reasonably suitable rubric for the use of force against mainstream nation-states, but is woefully inadequate when used to address, say, the idea of military intervention against marauding African warlords or against the Taliban in country X. What "non-violent policy means" can we exhaust against an enemy with no organized diplomatic apparatus or, worse yet, no interest we are capable of meeting/negotiating?

I'd say the ideas in the Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept are a pretty good starting point for taking care of non-state actors. My big takeaway is the measure of success in such operations. It's not how many people are killed or how much people like you. It is the degree to which the actor using IW has lost influence and control over its relevant population, and how much legitimacy the political authority that opposes the adversary has increased. Easy to talk about, hard as shit to actually do for the clusterfuck in the beltway.

PME...Making me sound like I know something, but not necessarily something smart.

 

[squorch2]

Honest question, but can we say we're still fighting two wars? With the draw down in Iraq, we've more or less closed it out (minus the small amount of remaining people in support roles and massive amounts of money).

 

[scoolbubba]

Good point. We really turned a tidy profit in Somalia.

 

[wink]

Along those lines has anyone really ever wondered why we got rid of the draft??

Because the government requiring you to labor for them by threat of prison is tantamount to slavery. Need a pretty dire emergency to justify that sort of government abridgment of personal freedom.
BTW, I don't think the return on "investment" in Vietnam, Grenada, or the Balkans supports the "money" arguement either.

 

[Brett327]

@ Trader: Or Lebanon, or Haiti, or Bosnia, or Kosovo. Your reductivist analysis sucks.

 

[scoober78]

Speed and angels on the right, left to left...

I wasn't reffering specifically to the taxpayer or the Country in terms of profit.

Surely you mean referring old boy...

Wasn;t Haliburton charging something like $250 to the .Gov per bag of laundry?

Are you asking us this or telling us this...or are you just confused .because you"re punctuation is so bad!

I also remember some stories about contractors in Iraq blowing up brand new vehicles that only had a flat tire since they were on a cost plus.

You remember it? As in you were there? You did this?! If not, where did you read this little gem? Go ahead, write a footnote. Please.

As for your McDonalds tirade...

 

[scoober78]

This is all old news, 2003 - 2005 timeframe, before your time. As I recall it was part of testimony to congress regarding KBR and Haliburtons no bid contract. One of the people that testified was Bunny Greenhouse.
Her quote was "the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career". As a reward for her testimony she was demoted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnatine_Greenhouse
Oh, good job on catching the grammar mistakes. If I ever need a secretary i'll be sure to let you know.

Yes, there were "non-bid contracts" and "cost plus" contracts awarded to Halliburton and their subsidiaries during the Iraq War and occupation. Was their fraud, waste and abuse associated with these contracts? I'd probably concede that there was, although I don't find Wikipedia articles or "I hear that once there was X" statements particularly compelling.

What you don't do, is make a compelling case that those contracts are how we decide as a nation to go to war. Until you do that, you're just screaming into the wind.

Finally, 2003-2005 is nowhere near before my time. As for the grammar...say something interesting and maybe I'll have something better to pay attention to in your post.

 

[HAL Pilot]

..say something interesting and maybe I'll have something better to pay attention to in your post.

that's the mother fucking pterodactyl...