New field manual for soldiers: “Lose moral legitimacy, lose the war,”

[bigtree]

July 16, 2006

US’s new plan to win in Iraq

The Sunday Times
Sarah Baxter , Washington
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2272066,00.html

THE US army has turned years of conventional military thinking on its head in a new field manual for soldiers on counter-insurgency operations in Iraq.

The manual, the first for 20 years, emphasises that it is far more important to secure moral legitimacy and the support of the community than to kill insurgents and win battles.

It has been drawn up by General David Petraeus, who is known as one of America’s more culturally sensitive commanders. He led the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles, into Iraq and set up training for the Iraqi forces before returning to the US last year to head the army staff college at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The manual’s conclusions are stark. “Lose moral legitimacy, lose the war,” it warns. In what could prove to be uncomfortable reading for Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, it emphasises that “efforts to build a legitimate government through illegitimate action — including unjustified or excessive use of force, unlawful detention, torture or punishment without trial — are self-defeating, even against insurgents who conceal themselves amid non-combatants”.

full report: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2272066,00.html

[DistressedAmerican]

1. Too Damn Late For That!

There is no way to have an illegal invasion of a non-aggressor country and still maintain "moral legitimacy". We have none. This is way too little, way too late.

They should have thought about that before going in, before Abu Ghraib, before Falluja, before the many, many incidents of abuse, rape and murder!

[teryang]

2. It's a little late for this, isn't it?

Belligerence, conquest, fraud, lies...invasion of Iraq.