Janesville Blogger Reports From Iraq, Vietnam, and Milton

George Hesselberg has a great piece in today's Wisconsin State Journal on Bob Keith, a Janesville "old school" blue collar worker and blogger, and his recent solo trip to Iraq to see it for himself.

Keith nails it:

"I have never been satisfied with someone else telling me how I should feel, and that's what I was getting about Iraq. Tie in the fact that this is what I heard during the Vietnam years, only this time around it was not good enough. I wanted to find out for myself," he said.

"I know it is dangerous to compare the two wars. But there are dead solders in a war that doesn't appear it is going to end. And I found out there is no Iraq to put back together."

"...I believe that we are arguing in America about an Iraq that doesn't really exist," he said.

He said by going to Iraq, he was simply applying the wisdom of a good Wisconsin farmer: "You learn as a farmer to know what you are talking about, otherwise you get your head handed to you. We have (more than) 60 soldiers from Wisconsin who have died there. I think it was important for me to breathe that air that so many of our people have lost their lives over."

Based on what he saw, he says reluctantly, "If victory is a solid Iraq, then I don't see them ever putting it together again."

Keith's blog is just what blogs should be: individualistic, quirky, and personal journalism. Anyone who can review southern Wisconsin Friday fish fry joints, dead sociologists, Vietnam, and parse terms like "Man-Palace" and "McNamaran-esk" (wars) deserves a prominent bookmark.  Cooldadiomedia.com is my new favorite Wisconsin blog.

-Barry Orton

Comments

[Ken Larson]

There are good points in your article. I would like to supplement them with some information:

I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.

If you are interested in a view of the inside of the Pentagon procurement process from Vietnam to Iraq please check the posting at my blog entitled, “Odyssey of Armaments”

http://www.rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com

The Pentagon is a giant, incredibly complex establishment, budgeted in excess of $500B per year. The Rumsfelds, the Administrations and the Congressmen come and go but the real machinery of policy and procurement keeps grinding away, presenting the politicos who arrive with detail and alternatives slanted to perpetuate itself.

How can any newcomer, be he a President, a Congressman or even the new Sec. Def.Mr. Gates, understand such complexity, particularly if heretofore he has not had the clearance to get the full details?

Answer- he can’t. Therefore he accepts the alternatives provided by the career establishment that never goes away and he hopes he makes the right choices. Or he is influenced by a lobbyist or two representing companies in his district or special interest groups.

From a practical standpoint, policy and war decisions are made far below the levels of the talking heads who take the heat or the credit for the results.

This situation is unfortunate but it is absolute fact. Take it from one who has been to war and worked in the establishment.

This giant policy making and war machine will eventually come apart and have to be put back together to operate smaller, leaner and on less fuel. But that won’t happen until it hits a brick wall at high speed.

We will then have to run a Volkswagen instead of a Caddy and get along somehow. We better start practicing now and get off our high horse. Our golden aura in the world is beginning to dull from arrogance.