Terrorism is not guerilla warfare
William Hawkins:
"...Given the availability of weapons and explosives in Iraq, if there was a real popular uprising against Americans, the U.S. presence would prove quickly untenable, but this is not the case. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak and cannot defeat the superior military presence of the United States and its allies. President Bush will not be terrorized into retreating, though there is the danger that continuing casualties could be exploited politically by those Democrats who seem to welcome being terrorized.
"...Outside support is essential to a successful revolution. Money, weapons, and even 'volunteer' troops are needed to give insurgents the means to fight. Foreign sanctuaries are important for training and protecting fighters, or at least their leaders. Diplomatic support is also important in weakening the position of the legitimate government, and perhaps reducing the aid it receives from abroad.
"...There is an immediate need to increase American, Coalition, and, most importantly, Iraqi security forces to crush the insurgency before it grows any further. The Bush administration has been struggling to fight a series of battles around the world using only the downsized military left by the Clinton administration. In 1990, when the first Gulf war was fought, the Army had 18 divisions. President George H. W. Bush reduced the Army to 14 divisions, what then-Defense secretary Dick Cheney called the "irreducible minimum" needed to protect American interests. President Clinton then cut the Army further to ten divisions. The last time the Army had only ten divisions was just before the Korean War when Mao noted how short America was in ground troops."
William Hawkins:
"...Given the availability of weapons and explosives in Iraq, if there was a real popular uprising against Americans, the U.S. presence would prove quickly untenable, but this is not the case. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak and cannot defeat the superior military presence of the United States and its allies. President Bush will not be terrorized into retreating, though there is the danger that continuing casualties could be exploited politically by those Democrats who seem to welcome being terrorized.
"...Outside support is essential to a successful revolution. Money, weapons, and even 'volunteer' troops are needed to give insurgents the means to fight. Foreign sanctuaries are important for training and protecting fighters, or at least their leaders. Diplomatic support is also important in weakening the position of the legitimate government, and perhaps reducing the aid it receives from abroad.
"...There is an immediate need to increase American, Coalition, and, most importantly, Iraqi security forces to crush the insurgency before it grows any further. The Bush administration has been struggling to fight a series of battles around the world using only the downsized military left by the Clinton administration. In 1990, when the first Gulf war was fought, the Army had 18 divisions. President George H. W. Bush reduced the Army to 14 divisions, what then-Defense secretary Dick Cheney called the "irreducible minimum" needed to protect American interests. President Clinton then cut the Army further to ten divisions. The last time the Army had only ten divisions was just before the Korean War when Mao noted how short America was in ground troops."
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