Quote Originally Posted by jmm99 View Post
Instead, we (civilians) were told to go shopping - a failure of leadership vis a vis the civilian population that still continues.
I don't buy that. It was one of many things said, but far from the only thing. Americans were urged to put their talents to use in support of our fight. Some did. Some didn't. And some others did the opposite - seeking cheap political points rather than seeking to contribute something productive. They responded with slanders against the President, shameless anti-American propaganda, attempting to politicize the military, and criticizing every step of the effort, whether the criticism was legitimate or not and whether each step was proper or not. I no more blame the civilian leadership for the pathetic behavior of some of this country's citizens any more than I blame Allah for my Iraqi Army counterparts' lack of punctuality.