Revealed: a new counter-insurgency strategy to carve up the city into
sealed areas. The tactic failed in Vietnam. So what chance does it have
in Iraq?

The campaign of "gated communities" - whose genesis was in the Vietnam
War - will involve up to 30 of the city's 89 official districts and will
be the most ambitious counter-insurgency programme yet mounted by the US
in Iraq

The initial emphasis of the new American plan will be placed on securing
Baghdad market places and predominantly Shia Muslim areas. Arrests of
men of military age will be substantial.

Will this really work?

How can you take a man's home, and then stop him from using its rooms.

This has all the ingredients of another disaster

For a Brit you seem to have a fantastic grasp of what went on in Viet
Nam. I don't recall the Brits being involved, the Aussies yes but the
Brits no. As for dividing a city up into gated communities, I WAS in
Saigon and that tactic was NEVER used! The tactics we were using in
Iraq were similar to the tactics used in Viet Nam, move into an area
pacify it and then move out which allows the enemy to move back in. The
way you win a war is to move in occupy an area deny the enemy access to
it and keep limiting his area of operations till he has no place left to
run. Then he either surrenders or is annilated. YOu do not win a war by
fighting the enemy on his terms, you win by making the enemy fight on
your temms. There are two old tennents to war that are still applicable.

1. Never leave an enemy behind you - Shaka King of the Zulus

2. Don't pay for the same piece of real estate twice - Gen. George S.
Patton

Forge,
As always,
You're my hero. After Patton

Belushi,
Where do you get your info. from?
Don't say N.P.R. please.

Taken from a excerpt from a Special Forces journal ...
"I hms albion on which served went to siahnoukville in cambodia in nov
68 to dec 68.

Their task mission was to stop soviet ships from supplying the siahnouk
trail to the mekong delta. Also they had to support the legal ruler of
cambodia prince siahnouk from US paid irregulars called the khmer rhia.

Also they had to stop the ARVN and US forces from violating the
cambodian border this led to light clashes with us forces and arvn navy
vessels

I served on a Vietnamese river gun boat as radio operator and the whole
secret operation was called OPERATION CHARLOTTE I was used as a
translator as my french was and still is fluent

Hms Albion being a commando carrier sent sbs and sas men ashore as well
to train and possibly dispose of any russian freight ships in the
harbour to stop the none stop traffic of munitions to the mekong delta."

So ... Brits were in Vietnam.

Secondly, this article was not written by myself.
It was a piece in one of the "neutrally political" national newspapers.

It actually runs to a couple of pages, but I put in only the first few
paragraphs.

Glenn ... sorry to be ignorant ... what is the N.P.R. ?

big Glenn more like Mad Magazine...

" ... The system has been used - and has spectacularly failed - in the
past, and its inauguration in Iraq is as much a sign of American
desperation at the country's continued descent into civil conflict as it
is of US determination to "win" the war against an Iraqi insurgency that
has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops. The system of
"gating" areas under foreign occupation failed during the French war
against FLN insurgents in Algeria and again during the American war in
Vietnam. Israel has employed similar practices during its occupation of
Palestinian territory - again, with little success ... "

Robert Fisk - Independant

In your dreams Belushi, the U.S. did not support the Khmer Rouge, they
were communitsts. We were trying to prop up the Sheynouk Regime. As
for Russian ships up the Mekong River. I was with 4th Trasnsportation
Command, HQ at Saigon Port, we had 4 terminals on the Mekong River, Can
Tho, My Tho, Dong Tam and Vhin Long. The 9th Infantry Division was at
My Tho and I was there many times myself for various reasons. There
were no Russian Ships that I know of that ever went up the Mekong River
as they would have had to pass throught the entire width of South Viet
Nam to do so, a thing that the South Vietnamese Government would never
have permitted at our urging. As for Vietnamese River Gunboats, I never
saw one, there were U.S. Navy Swift Boats, and our 4th TC J and Q boats,
LCM-6s and LCM-8s all up and down the Saigon and Mekong River, but I
never saw a Vietnamese Gun boat not saying that such an animal didn't
exist, but they would have been rare as hens teeth. As for the need of
a French Translator, most educated Vietnamese spoke French fluently as a
second language. Are you sure this story wasn't written by Ian Flemming

sounds like Forge and I are on the same heading..
you take who is already there (american forces wise)
combine them ALL into two or three brigades and secure those specific
ares the brigades are at. You then demobilize every eigle one of our
reservists over there, and activiate them for no more than a period of
say 6 months. During the next six months you take every single soldier
coming out of basic and ait and send them over as a one foe one trade
for the reservist and guardsmen that are already there. Within six
months you should be able to replace every part timer that is there iwth
active duty, WITHOUT leavign yourself weak from too many new people and
command. After the last reservist and guardsmen is out, you move just
enough of your forces forward to occupy two or three more areas WITHOUT
LEAVING THE FORMER AREA UNPROTECTED. You now have up to six areas under
control and "safe". You keep this method up until you have taken the
entire country. once it is safe you let the iraqis take control one bit
at a time so they can get used to being incommand of their own again and
can get used to running a government so that they do not need to fear
insurgants.

I knew a Sgt. Vietnam vet that served as a driver with the 4th in nam.
he probably wasnt a Sgt then though! His name was Marsh, I know its a
long shot but you didnt know him, did you forge? He was one of my first
platoon Sgt's.when I was in the 4th ID.

Hey Fanta welcome home.....

Garden ... just because you didnt see these things happen doesnt mean
they didnt.

I mean, the Brits, according to you werent in Vietnam. I have a website
to the contrary.

You may have been there at the time, but plenty of others were too.

Also, just because the Vietnamese spoke french, it doesnt mean the
Americans, Brits or Aussies do. The guy was translating from the
Vietnamese people to the Westerners, not the other way around.

where did I go daniel???

"How can you take a man's home, and then stop him from using its rooms."

A little off topic, Duncan, sorry.

This happens whenever government wants to build, too. Right here. A
person's home isn't thiers. Not if they can have it taken, or bought out
by big money. And, this is where I see it all fits. The money spent to
allow it.

again, sorry to hijack
carry on

women.........

lol I have to concur with ya fanta... WOMEN......

I just havent seen ya in here (current events) in a couple days thats
why I said welcome home.

BTW you got mail As do you Forge

Few are brave enough to follow in my ****....

fanta shush, lol.

i had a thought...

what a booger

awww now they are using pet names for each other...



















lmao sorry guys (and lady) cold nt resist it

LOL, I liked it turbulence. Im just waiting on forge's reply to the
brit....