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By Paul Sherbo, Lakewood

Brace yourself for a lot of back-seat driving.

In World War I, British commander Sir Douglas Haig “never visited the trenches” because, according to William Manchester in The Last Lion, “Scenes of carnage ... might influence his judgment.”

Apparently Haig thought it was a bad thing to let reality influence his thinking.

Such ivory-tower opinions (along with Haig’s dismissal of machine guns and tanks as insignificant) have been deplored by scores of generals since. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of politicians.

Hard on the heels of the September report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, both left and right will support or condemn the report according to their own pre-formed opinions. The truth of the report will hardly matter.

What can the average American do in the face of the ensuing debate? Some suggested guidance:

People close to the battle know more than people in Washington. (Imagine that!) Yet a friend who should know better has told me that while he admired the troops and their opinions, he was more interested in the opinions of “those of us who can step back and look at the big picture.” (No, his name is not Haig.)

Of course, there are troops who argue both sides of the Iraq question. For instance, Vets For Freedom on one side and VoteVets on the other. I recommend spending time listening to that debate, not the one in Washington.

Watch out for “do as I say, not as I do.” Several members of Congress have complained that the Iraqi parliament adjourned for the month of August. Remind me, what did Congress do in August?
The “blogosphere” has its limits. Robust public debate is great — it should have happened before the war. However, it should be somewhat above the level of two guys in a bar saying, “Tell you what ... ”

Observe the Gold Star Mother rule. I may not agree with Cindy Sheehan, but she is a Gold Star Mother. She can say whatever she wants, and my respectful response will be “Thank you, ma’am.” But I extend that same courtesy to the Gold Star Mothers who oppose her, such as those from Families United For the Troops and Their Mission. They may not be as favored with media coverage as Sheehan is, but they are no less committed.

Beware the “lessons of history.” People cite the “lessons of history” as if these are clear black-and-white rules. In fact, history is a lot more like the oracle at Delphi — it mutters, mumbles and leaves you to figure it all out. But you will only figure it all out in hindsight. Hence, some people decided the “lesson” of World War I was never to fight, always to negotiate — which led to Britain’s capitulation to Hitler’s demands at Munich. Then some people felt the lesson of Munich was to be more confrontational, and that has led to its own problems. The point is there is a lot to learn from history, but don’t expect a clear answer. (Except in hindsight.)

There are more than two choices. This is not an either-or debate — not a choice between cruelly abandoning the Iraqis on the one hand or a Roman-style occupation on the other. Between getting out tomorrow and starting a draft to send in more troops, there are a lot of choices. (My own would be to move our main bases to the desert in the south and west of Iraq and strengthen the adviser program.)

Finally, returning to my earlier theme of those who were there and those who weren’t: Remember the exchange between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid last November. Clinton said that hope is not a plan. Abizaid replied that neither is despair. Despair is what you hear in the United States. Hope is what you hear in Iraq. Now, guess which one has spent more time with the troops in Iraq.

A relative asked me recently if I think we are losing the war. I said yes, but not there. It’s being lost here, by the back-seat drivers.

Paul Sherbo, a Navy Reserve captain and Lakewood resident, was recalled to active duty in June 2004 to serve as the Fifth Fleet’s representative to coalition forces in Iraq. He returned home in April 2005 and retired from the Navy Reserve in June 2006 after 30 years of service.

READER COMMENTS

Yes, God Bless this letter writer for such an excellent post. If only all Americans could accept the simple truth that our strategy need not change and our soldiers in Iraq are strong and brave enough to be patient for another year or so.

Our current president has been saddled with enough challenges -- the media needs to give him a break. Stay the course for another 14 months or so, and let him concentrate on the domestic goals he hasn't had the chance to work on -- he deserves a chance, doesn't he? Every other president seems to have had a shot at trying out some ideas within our borders, right?

Let the next guy (or gal) bring in some fresh ideas for Iraq -- its not going anywhere -- if they think his ideas weren't good enough, let's see what they have in mind...I'm sick of all this talk. The time will pass quick enough, just have faith, we'll get there. And with letters like this every so often, January 2008 will be here before we know it.

Surge? Continuing extermination of Arabs in the Middle East Plantation. Continuing vaporization of Iraqi babies with USA chemical weapons.

Surge? Continuing extermination of Arabs in the Middle East Plantation. Continuing vaporization of Iraqi babies with USA chemical weapons.

There is no doubt that the thousands of refugees created by Bush's war have indeed been a huge tragedy and disaster of this war. JJ is right, if the surge is working why are all these people leaving Iraq. Who the heck will be there to bring "freedom" to?The Maliki government is nothing more than a puppet of the United States. To continue our troop presence is a travesty beyond words. Who is paying for this war anyway? Not you. It is your children who will be paying. If this war is so great why aren't the children of those who masterminded it serving? I say sign them up. The children of Cheney and Bush, send them over.

There are many Vets speaking out today about the futility of our presence in Iraq. Additionally, there are many people in the military now, Colonels and Majors also speaking out. These are not back street drivers. Our presence in Iraq is creating less security in the region, fomenting hatred and increasing terrorist recruitment. The psychology of war is to stifle dissent and label those who speak against it as unpatriotic. This is not new, read "The Psychology of War" by Lawrence LeShan. Military solutions are not working in Iraq. The so called Iraq report is filled with lies and illusions. Bush has stated that progress has been made in Iraq repeatedly since 2003. I do not understand how anyone can support this man and his failed policies. The same standards for No Child Left Behind should apply to Iraq! All benchmarks must be met, no partial meeting. Close to 4,000 US troops dead. Isn't that enough? How many more years do you folks think we should remain in Iraq before "success" whatever that is, can be achieved? Our military is worn out. Troops are deployed to Iraq repeatedly and morale is incredibly low. Military recruitment is at a crisis level. What kind of impact is there going to be on our country with thousands of injured and wounded men and women returning to the states and trying to have a life again? It is time to bring the troops home and let the Iraqis determine their own future. This occupation is creating thousands of refugees from Iraq fleeing to Syria and Jordan. The rich are doing fine, but thousands of the middle and low Iraqis are out of work with their children selling trinkets to help out their families on the streets of Syria. When they were in Iraq these children were in school. How is this stabilizing the Middle East. It is sad that so many people cannot accept the reality of the results of this war. I urge all of you to watch more than Fox news. Check out some of the U Tube videos. I pray for peace in Iraq, and that our troops can come home. Who is going to help the Iraqi refugees that have resulted from this war? George W. Bush has created a quagmire that he has no intentions of solving. He focuses on the money he will make once he is no longer President. What kind of leader is he? He wishes to let the next President solve the problems he has created. How anyone can support this man and his policies is beyond me. I pray for our country, and I pray that some of you may see the light and realize the importance of a new leader that is competent, intelligent, and has a vision sorely lacking in the current one no doubt some of you helped elect. May someone bring about solutions to these problems and soon.

Paul,
Thank you for a great post.. I agree with the current strategy...more local protection (protect and serve) in the provinces and allow that peace become a national one....and secure the G.D. borders.. could be done here too ....hah....

Pay the detractors no mind....

I witnessed the same negativity from the media and how it energized our enemies in Vietnam..read General Giap memoirs.. I was there for 3 tours..and I witnessed this on every "turn around".....

Good letter.....

The surge will work as long as we stay put. Move out and it will collapse. we may need to adopt this country yet.

it would be nice if the current regime in washington (bush) would actually listen to his generals a(and the public) instead of firing them for telling him his plan isnt working.

no one on the right wants to admit that Kurdistan is working. WITHOUT our troops. if they did our boys would be home. three little countries is what the Kurds, Sunnis, and Sheites want! too bad Democracy isn't allowed there either.

In WW2 the leaders of our nation wanted the war over as soon as possible. our current leaders want to drag it out (iraq) as long as possible... could it be greed as the motive? Warmongering is no way to secure the peace.

An excellent column, Capt. Sherbo. As you aptly point out, back-seat driving is not an option, especially in time of war.

An excellent letter, Capt. Sherbo. As you aptly point out, back-seat driving is not an option, especially in time of war!

Mike,
We are in the middle of a civil war (It's in Iraq though)! Hundreds of people every day are killed in the streets of our cities. The border sees hundreds of illegals and potential terrorists cross it every day.

The politicians take the month of August off and when they return, instead of finishing up valuable legislation to priotect our citizens they will put the finishing touches on their re-election campaigns, essentially taking another 12 months off.

How much do we pay these fools?

The war is NOT being lost here, by the "backseat drivers." It's being lost THERE, by the Iraqis, who are more intent on carrying on their little centuries-old religious / tribal blood feud than they are running their country. We can "surge" 20,000 or 200,000 troops into that country, and until the Iraqis decide to get their act together, it won't make a difference in the end.

By the way, the criticism of the Iraqi parliament taking a summer vacation is absolutely valid - I can guarantee you that if our country was in the midst of a civil war, and dozens of people were being murdered daily on the streets of Washington by suicide bombers, our Congress would not go on vacation.

This war for oil, which is exactly what it is, it certainly, and in no way what-so-ever is a war for democracy in Iraq2. So stop lying on this one subject at least, Bush, and call what it really is.
Will never end anytime in the near future, and certainly will not end until big oil and the people who run this country, and I don't mean the congress or the twin loons in the white house, have controlling interest and power in the Iraq oil reserves.

YOU KNOW IT, I KNOW IT, EVERYBODY KNOWS IT AMERICA, so why not wake up and face the music this twitball has gotten us into for the next 10-20 years.
He, Bush and his war buddy, Cheney the shotgun, have no intention of ever getting out of Iraq.

All we have to know about the so-called "Petraeus" report is that it's being written by the White House.

The SURGE appears to be working, it should have been implemented up-front, not 5 years later. But no matter what the Petraeus report says or who is elected president in 2008, American troops will remain in Iraq for the long haul. The very long haul.

Bottom line: our guys ain't comming home anytime soon, they never do.

Thanks Paul. And may God Bless.

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