The Questions Wolf didn’t ask

CNN is busy these days keeping up to speed on Yasser Arafat and the hostilities in Fallujah, so perhaps it’s to be expected that simple things slip by the wayside. But Wolf Blitzer, the seasoned international reporter and now Uber host on CNN really should take the gift horses when they arrive.

Blitzer was interviewing the latest General to offer up some armchair quarterbacking on the workings of the US military in Iraq. Today’s analyst Major General Charles Swannack was a striking man, authoritative, impressive and informative. He briefed us well on the state of readiness of American forces, gave us some idea as to what they may face in combat and even ventured a few suggestions on possible military scenarios for us to ponder.

The Major General comes by his knowledge honestly, for as Wolf explained in his opening remarks, the Major General was but only one day into his retirement from the US Armed Forces. Certainly a major coup (if we dare use such an expression) for CNN and its stable of war analysts.

Yet that one detail, the Major General’s retirement should have given Wolf more than enough questions to fill up the entire hour. For instance how about for starters, a simple explanation why, on the eve of perhaps the “greatest urban battle since Vietnam” the US military is allowing its upper level management to leave the field of battle, while at the same time it’s extending the tours of duty of it’s National Guard and regular army units.

While I’m sure the Major General has put in more than his fair share of tours and no doubt served his nation with great honor one wonders how he truly feels. And while he most assuredly deserves a quiet and well compensated retirement, it seems a tad strange that he be moved out of theatre just as things begin to heat up extremely.

Then again his comments to the Boston Globe earlier this year probably helped to propel the retirement papers. With a bit of dedication perhaps Wolf could have allowed Major General Swannack to expand on his thoughts of Iraq and the state of the US military at the moment.

While Wolf would be on that topic, perhaps he could have expanded the theme for us here in the office of armchair military planning. It’s always struck me as unusual that the reserve units and guard units are being taxed to their limits in tours of Iraq, while other military units tend to their duties in distant lands. One wonders why the US military is not cycling in units from Korea, Germany, Japan and whatever other outposts they may be stationed in, to help share the load and relieve the burden of those that have been there from day one of the Iraqi adventure.

Through the last three months unit after unit in Iraq, seems to have had its tour extended, yet the large American presence in Korea for instance has not been moved. Would it not be fair to rotate those forces into Iraq for six months or so, and send the battle weary forces there now to Korea, or back home to rest? Now I’m the first to admit I’m not to up to speed on how Donald Rumsfeld and his military managers are planning things, but it would seem that an already trained and well rested force from Korea might be a better bet than dragging on the tours of already weary and frustrated Guard units.

Wolf would have done us all a service by asking that question. Better yet, he could have asked the newly returned and retired Major General what will come after Fallujah and when the best case date for all forces returning home may be. That possibly would be the most productive bit of armchair planning that we could use.

There certainly is no doubt now about the resolve of the US to finish off the current mission, one truly hopes that they find a solution to this situation as soon as possible. Allowing not only the Major General to enjoy his retirement, but to allow those serving in Iraq and those that will have to live there afterwards to find a sense of safety, comfort and most importantly Life in the very near future.