Arm Chair Debrief

As per military tradition the debrief following a mission is intended as an educational measure to study what worked and what could be improved upon. The following commentary is an opinion piece and should not be adopted as official doctrine nor has the opinion of the writer been endorsed by any official organization. The writer of this commentary is on the way to community college so please bare with typos and errors in grammar, though constructive criticism and the time it takes out of one’s day is always welcomed. The writer was an observer of two combat tours, a lowly ranked enlisted man who served four years in active service as a U.S. Marine Corps Infantryman.

Before Iraq

The buildup for the invasion of Iraq by U.S. armed forces before March of 2003 was a spectacle to behold, if you were following such drama. It is the opinion of the writer that anytime politicians and military officials point to grainy black and white photos, explaining the imminent threat of specs of grey, that society should fly the bullshit flag and ask for proof before declarations to end human life are finalized that would at the very least hold up in a reasonable court of law.
It should be known that my family has an extensive history of service for the United States Armed Forces during both war and peace time documented as far back as the American Civil War and with an oral history touching on the landing at Plymouth Rock. I was always going to serve my country; the war was a coincidence and not a motivator for my joining. During my junior year of High School I remember studying the Vietnam War; we covered the Gulf of Tonkin incident which was verified in my history book as at least, “A bad call”. I remember asking myself if such a thing could happen in my lifetime? Months later the towers fell in New York and to my amazement, all of the dominos collapsed as America handled the devastating loss of over three thousand innocent people going to work, I tried to pay attention through fifteen year old eyes to what solution would be reached by an American people who searched for an enemy to quench a blood lust and the social need for revenge. The cup of propaganda spilled over the television and soon Osama Bin Laden was a household name.
In reality the common person did not know whether the attacks of September 11, 2001 were the foot or the summit of a mountain that was going to have to be climbed. It will be noted in history that America was immediately changed by the events of September 11, 2001. This was an odd sight to witness for a teenager and the son of a media man. I had always stayed on top of current events, and by this time was browsing several newspapers a day trying to hypothesize the next natural move. Afghanistan was invaded at the end of the year, first quietly by Special Operations troops, (Covert warriors who specialize in unconventional warfare i.e. Navy Seals, “Rambo”), and the CIA. Had we kept conventional troops out of the fight, (i.e. ground forces such as standard infantry troops and support who were intended to fight foreign conventional forces) it is the belief of the writer that the war could have been handled in a different manner that would have avoided international frustrations that would taint U.S. foreign policy for an indefinite amount of time. The war in Afghanistan will be covered in a future edition.
It was during the spring of 2002 that the Bush administration began their campaign for the invasion of Iraq as a key component to, “The War on Terror”.