with Wilf and Umar Al-Mokhtār. I can know and militarily adapt to an alien culture and accord the populace respect and some cultural awareness but there are and have to be limits or I am not doing my job and am taking the easy way out. I can make people working for me behave responsibly and I should do so -- but I'm not in a position to make them accept a culture that is alien to them.

I can know my enemy -- though in the situation we're talking here, the population should not be my enemy -- and I can respect him for his capabilities but that doesn't mean that I or any soldier has to accept any tenets of that culture.

I also suggest that in every foreign nation in which I've served, no matter how nice and respectful I or the Troops were, the locals did not want to understand us with only rare individual exceptions -- most of 'em were quite polite (most peoples are far more polite than Americans) and / or respectful or fearful as the situation seemed to dictate -- but they really just wanted us gone, out of their sight and out of their country as quickly as possible. A soldier in a foreign land had better never lose sight of that fact of life.

On a believe it or not allied note, Brandon, you mention that the Administration pushed Congress around in the lead up to invading Iraq. Possibly true and of note is the fact that the pushers you cite were former Congroids. Does this mean they 'knew their enemy?' Or could it simply mean that Congress' lack of gumption and concern for their own reelection has more to do with their rollover than did any lack of 'expertise?'

As I pointed out, the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations were quite poor strategically and they were loaded with veterans as were the Congresses of the time. I'm not at all sure your desire for more veterans in Congress will do what you appear to think it will do. The historical evidence over the last 200 years and particularly recently is not favorable. I think every Mother's advice "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it..." is probably appropriate.