Robert Fisk Quotes
So here's a question from one who believed, only a week ago, that Baghdad might just collapse and that we might wake up one morning to find the Baathist militia and the Iraqi army gone and the Americans walking down Saadun Street with their rifles over their shoulders. If the Iraqis can still hold out against such overwhelming force in Umm Qasr for four days, if they can keep fighting in Basra and Nasiriyah – the latter a city that briefly rose in revolt against Saddam's regime in 1991 – why should Saddam's forces not keep fighting in Baghdad?
Fisk, Robert. "It was a tiny story but it was a warning. It meant the Iraqis would fight." The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 25 Mar. 2003.
They referred to the George W. Bush Administration. The Powell Doctrine, created by then Secretary of State when he was Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff stated that if American Troops were ever to be used in combat, they should be deployed in massive overwhelming force and have a clear exit strategy. Powell lost the internal argument and was marginalized, but he turned out to be absolutely right.
Ever since the end of WWII, no major war has been fought where there has been a classic victory where one nation is conquered by another and there is a surrender. Many of the wars have been fought against non-state actors or our war aim is a regime change or the establishment of a more friendly government. We have no desire to occupy the countries generally, and there is often no one “in charge” of the enemy who can even surrender. Bruce was referring to the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. In each case, despite the lack of a surrender document, it can be said that America won both of these wars initially and then had great trouble with the occupation, the nation building, and keeping the peace. In Iraq and Afghanistan we suffered almost no casualties in the initial invasions. The occupation and “peace” is where we suffered almost all of our casualties.
He lost the vote on this issue, and the Congress created the first committee to investigate and oversee military affairs.
Robert Fisk was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. During his career he developed strong views, and was especially critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stance earned him praise from many commentators, but was condemned by others.
