Appeasement, Diplomacy and 4G Warfare

It's happening again. With W's speech to the Israeli Knesset this week, the mouthpieces on the right are loudly attacking Obama as naive and willing to surrender to our mortal enemies and give up on the war on terrorism (whatever that is). John McCain is predicting victory in Iraq by 2013 if he is elected President. I just wish that someone could explain what victory in Iraq is exactly. What is our objective in Iraq--- and I'm not looking for the answer to be a one word response: Victory.

William Lind pens an interesting article about the delusions held by those in power when it comes to Iraq and "progress in our objectives". As Lind points out, this conflict is a Fourth Generation War:

"One of the most common signs that America's leadership is clueless about Fourth Generation war is the language they use. Fourth Generation war has few if any defining moments. Nor does it have "turning points," another common Bushism. In his testimony to Congress, U.S. Gen. David Petraeus revealed the limits on his own grasp of 4GW when he said, "We've got to continue. We have our teeth into the jugular, and we need to keep it (sic) there."Opponents in 4GW have no jugular. 4GW is war of the capillaries. What U.S. forces have their teeth into in Iraq is a jellyfish."

The hackneyed response by those who support the war in condemning war opponents as surrendering to our mortal enemies is just another political expedient smokescreen that avoids any serious discussion of the issue at hand. I believe the effectiveness of this approach is over. This will become more and more evident as we move into the fall campaign. The American people signed up for "Stay the Course" a couple years ago-- and I think they are finally beginning to look at what is really behind the curtain. One clue, it's certainly no wizard.