Ex general Jack Keane grea$e$ the wheels of war

Muckity.com

Retired Gen. Jack Keane also contributed to surge strategy in Iraq
By A. James Memmott
September 22, 2008 at 10:15am

In the military, as in politics and in business, connections count.

And, by most accounts, one connection that impacted the war in Iraq for the better was the friendship between two soldiers, Gen. David H. Petraeus and retired Gen. John M. “Jack” Keane.

Petraeus, who stepped down last week as commanding general of coalition troops in Iraq, is widely praised for his leadership following the so-called “surge” of 21,500 additional U.S. troops in Iraq that began in early 2007.

But Keane also deserves credit, analysts say, for his early advocacy of the surge.

The former Army vice chief of staff, Keane retired in 2003 after a 37-year career. But even though he was retired, he remained actively involved in the debate over the conduct of the Iraq war.

He visited Iraq often. And as he saw conditions there deteriorate, he became a strong advocate for sending in additional troops.

In December 2006, Keane and Francis W. Kagan, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, published a pro-surge report entitled, Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq.

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It would take many moons to follow the trails of chicken shit to the defense industries, news analysts, and military contractors, where ex military brass are sitting on the boards to insure the "more of the same" agenda in the Middle East.

The troop carriers, armoured cars, and even the tanks are obselete in a real war where the so called enemy has real weapons and money to replenish them. Yet we are cranking them out like there is no tomorrow where we can continue to bully and maim unarmed countries. If Iraq or Gaza had stinger missiles with depleted uranium warheads, you can bet that there would be no boots on the ground.

Just my opinion, but I think that there is a lot of difference between collective punishment of a civilian population and an all out war, with a formidable enemy, where there really is a winner.