Michael Yon's latest dispatch

[Undertoad]

I said in this IotD, about Michael Yon's blog, that "It's kind of politically neutral, because all Yon does is tell the full story. All sides will find points for their schools of thought."

Righty blogs embraced Yon for reporting the successes in Mosul. They were less happy when he was the first to describe the situation as "civil war". Yon's response is priceless:

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/of-words.htm

Since posting a reminder of that dispatch, I have been subject to some interesting attention. I’ve been shunned by radio interviewers and dropped from planned television appearances; I’ve been called so many contradictory things that I have to chuckle. Of course there have been the obscene and threatening communications, along with others pointing out that when I say “civil war” certain media will use my statements to push for early withdrawal, and so I should refrain from saying the truth. That will not happen. My readers deserve and expect the good, the bad and the ugly from me.

I do not report this because I harbor animosity for the current administration, or to magnify any mistakes it has made, but only so that the American people, and readers around the world, can be presented with at least one set of eyes and ears that are reasonably politically color-blind and tone-deaf. If the truth helps the administration, so be it. If the truth damages the administration, so be it. More important is to provide information people can use in their own decision cycles. Whether or not anyone agrees with the reasons for starting this war, we invaded Iraq, and should complete the mission, and that needs to be defined clearly as a stable and democratic Iraq, and not as a date on a calendar. We have to stop treating the truth like a work in progress or a lump of clay that we can shape into an image or icon.

I’ll say it as clearly today as I said it more than a year ago from my perch in Baquba: the civil war is real. It is not abating, it is growing. And it’s growing in part because we have been spackling over the truth about where much of this violence derives, and not addressing the true nature of the enemy.

In describing the situation from a military POV (Yon is ex Spec Forces), Yon abhors the political, correctly identifies both success and failure, looks at things from the standpoint of accomplishing the mission, and understands the historical nature of conflict. Anti-war, but convinced that war is sometimes occasionally necessary; I understand that this is is the approach they teach at West Point nowadays.


Yon's latest is really effing long and I don't recommend you go read it... unless you have a free half-hour and want a better understanding of Iraq. Some of Yon's points:

- Iraq IS in civil war.
- But not the old blue-gray, well-defined war lines we are familiar with.
- It is NOT largely cross-border insurgents.
- Though we don't disrespect our soldiers, we have forgotten them, as their mission becomes politically confused and something we don't care to look at.
- The pols and media have let us down, big-time.