Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
I did. I was saying 5-10 years on this board. Search it if you don't believe me.
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That's all well and good, but so what?
We've been discussing US military credibility. Credibility means, in essence, that what you say is true, you will do what you say, you will accomplish what you say you will accomplish.
US military credibility is not judged by what anonymous posters thought -- or even what the Admin may have thought privately. It is judged by what US leaders claimed would happen versus what actually happened. And the staggering gulf between the two has damaged our credibility, to the point where neither Iran nor North Korea feel particularly threatened with consequences for building up their nuclear programs.
And US capability is judged the same way. When Cheney says the insurgency is in its last throes, and it gets stronger and stronger over the next year or so -- with no end in sight -- that looks like a victory to these people, and the aura of victory increases their support. Just like Hezbollah looks powerful because Israel mistakenly asserted that it would accomplish much more than it did.
Moreover, I think that what the Admin thought privately was consistent with what they said publicly -- they were drinking their own whiskey, as we say. The planning for the aftermath of Saddam's downfall reflected anything but a leadership that expected a 5-10 year war. You may have predicted that, but you weren't involved in the planning and no one who was had, or acted on, similar foresight.
