"We are older now... still not stupid"

Joe Galloway, writing for McClatchy Newspapers, confabs with brass. All seem to have large contingents of beetles up their nether regions.

Top military leaders insist new U.S. strategy is desperately needed in Iraq

Debating issues of war and peace and America's role in the world aren't off limits in this fourth year of war in Iraq, and they aren't a sign of anything but the health and vibrancy of our democracy, however much President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld might wish otherwise in a tough election season.

In hopes of furthering that debate, this week I asked more than a dozen top Army and Marine Corps generals - active duty and retired, dissidents and administration loyalists - to address what we should do now in Iraq.

All of them agreed that America's strategy and tactics in Iraq have failed, and that President Bush's policy of "staying the course" in Iraq isn't likely to produce anything but more frustration, more and greater problems for the United States in a dangerous world, and more and bloodier surprises for the 135,000 American troops in Iraq.

"Lack of security and lack of governance have pushed Iraq into the rise of a civil war," said one retired senior general. "The message is clear: We have a failed strategy, and we need new leadership and a new strategy to secure (our) interests in the region." The U.S. has important issues in the Middle East - not least of them Iran, he said, "but we cannot do much while bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"The problem thus far, as you know, has been lack of serious planning, poor selection of people in charge ... screwed-up assessments and assumptions, no building of international and regional cooperation, trust in non-credible exiles and too much spin and ad hoc-ery," said retired Marine Gen. Tony Zinni, who formerly headed the U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for 32 nations, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Zinni, who was among those who counseled continued containment of Saddam Hussein's Iraq rather than war and regime-change, continued: "The current bankrupt course we are staying is focused only, or almost only, on security and is not complete even in that area."

"Until we back up and assess what we have gotten ourselves into, I fear we will see a repeat of the war in Vietnam," said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, who recently called for firing Rumsfeld. "Our military will again fight a series of battles and engagements in Iraq without the overall purpose that a good campaign plan provides."

. . .

Yes, back up and assess. Back up, south, to Kuwait, and wait. Back up west, way west, and PT and play volleyball and make goofy faces at Syrians. And wait. Back up, north, and hang in the Kurdish Highlands. Drink some tea. And wait. Get out, but stay close. Let them get their ya-yas out. Tell everyone it's their dress rehearsal.

And here's the great part: Cheney and his band of idiots wants to threaten Iran. Super, now you have a reason that sane folk can understand: "Alheminajad, leave em alone. They've got some things to "iron out." So much as dangle a keffiyeh over the border and it's charcoal--other than that, we're cool, yeah? Righto."

It goes on for about 4 times the length of the above snippet, here.