Paid Pundits

Here's a sample of the commentary that I've been reading of late:

Henninger: The Ahabs of the world go fishing.

Kinsley: Hyperlinking like rabbits!

Krauthammer: Even a Jewish guy is defending the beleaguered Christmas.

Barber (yes, that one! ): The little blogs played big roles in the Rather-gate dustup, too.

Tremoglie: Donald Rumsfeld and the armor controversy in context.

(Thanks to various bloggers)

Comments

[AH·C]

Kudos to Tremoglie for nailing the current round of MMQB-ing. Unfortunately, as deep as his analysis was, it was only the tip of the Up-Armored (UA) Program going all the way back to before Somalia.

I also get tired of hearing politics spun as glaring shortcomings of Rummy. Sure Rummy has his problems, mistakes and critics. What most seem to forget is that the Army we brung to dance in Iraq was the Army designed by Powell, Shashi, Shinseki and built with -- more accurately shortchanged by -- the proceeds of our 'glorious' peace dividend (PD) as engineered by Slick Willy, mAddled-brain Dimbright and friends. Where was McCain and other defense stalwarts, both Dem & GOP?

From where I sat smack dab in the middle of UA fielding in Europe during the 90s/early 00s, Rummy inherited a mess. And it is here that the real background on procurement, testing, debates & logistical/acquisition doctrine was fleshed out -- which now haunts Rummy, and by extension Bush.

If it weren't for the PD, we very well could have had both UA tactical vehicles and the Future Combat System (FCS) beginning in the mid-90s.

The money "wasn't" there, the asymetrical strategy still in development and as a result, the notion of up-armoring the fleet was literally stillborn by 1998, except to otherwise produce them primarily just for the MPs and Scouts.

This command decision was handed down from on high despite the wholehearted embrace by field troops in Bosnia/Kosovo/Somalia. And the ensuing clamor for more UA types, such as the 28 UA-PLSes that managed to make it to Kosovo.

Anyone for UA-FMTVs, UA-PLSes/HEMTTs, UA-HETs, UA-5-Tons, UA-Freightliners? All of those were in various stages of development & procurement and all were axed back then.

Can anyone say lesson not learned by SecDef Cohen? Believe it or not, Gen Clark was for more UAs back then, but as our involvement wound down, look who got the boot and who stayed? Oh yeah, Baby, we were gonna party like it was 1992 forever.

Hint: Anyone for positive self-affirmation psychobabble of "Army Of One" and touchy-feely Black Berets (made in China) got to stay and play a while longer before Rummy shook them out like so much collected dust in 01/02.

Bottomline, change is required and like any bureacracy, incumbents resist change that would mess with their little private baliwick. Rummy is doing a darn good job in shaking the complacency outta DOD flacks and getting them results oriented.