G
gilliam
Guest
An *LATimes *reporter named Tony Perry was on “Hardball” last night, and made a lot of sense. Check out this exchange when Chris Matthews was asking a somewhat appalling question:
MATTHEWS: Suppose the minority Sunnis, who ran the government with Saddam Hussein when he was in power, supposed they decide as a community, 90 percent of them decide not to vote. Can we continue to call them insurgents or are they not secessionists, people who say we
Let me start with you, Tony, in country. What happens if the Sunnis say, we
PERRY: No, I don`t think so.
I think you have to realize that the Marines – I
And I think – I spoke to a Marine, a young Marine captain. He made a very good point. He said, this is not Vietnam. The insurgency here has no philosophy to speak of. This isn`t a philosophy like the Viet Cong that had communism, that had a national leader, Ho Chi Minh, that they adored. The insurgents basically have no philosophy, except no government, no control, no self-determination.
So it
Remember, this is a city that not even Saddam Hussein could control. They took over the government center from the Saddam Hussein government while he was in power. This is a very, very tough city as part of a tough province, the Al Anbar Province. There
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nationalreview.com/thecorner/05_01_23_corner-archive.asp#054540
MATTHEWS: Suppose the minority Sunnis, who ran the government with Saddam Hussein when he was in power, supposed they decide as a community, 90 percent of them decide not to vote. Can we continue to call them insurgents or are they not secessionists, people who say we
re not part of this new government and therefore you have to ask the moral authority question. Can American service people fire on them if they simply say were not part of this new government? Do we have the right to tell them that they can`t do that…Let me start with you, Tony, in country. What happens if the Sunnis say, we
re not playing ball, were not joining in this election? Could they become then a secessionist movement? What would happen?PERRY: No, I don`t think so.
I think you have to realize that the Marines – I
m with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment -- theyre not firing on people because of some philosophic difference. They`re firing on people they have to fire on to protect their own lives, people who have been using roadside bombs and suicide cars and snipers.And I think – I spoke to a Marine, a young Marine captain. He made a very good point. He said, this is not Vietnam. The insurgency here has no philosophy to speak of. This isn`t a philosophy like the Viet Cong that had communism, that had a national leader, Ho Chi Minh, that they adored. The insurgents basically have no philosophy, except no government, no control, no self-determination.
So it
s hard to think of them as some sort of legitimate party in that regard. Theyre essentially – in Ramadi, certainly, you could liken them to the Mafioso, who would really like to control, if not the whole city, certain neighborhoods and continue doing so.Remember, this is a city that not even Saddam Hussein could control. They took over the government center from the Saddam Hussein government while he was in power. This is a very, very tough city as part of a tough province, the Al Anbar Province. There
s no philosophy here. Theres violence.[sounds like he has been reading my posts ]nationalreview.com/thecorner/05_01_23_corner-archive.asp#054540