[A-List] The ROI for the Iraqi Insurgency Spike Sharply Upward

["Leigh Meyers" <the.buffalo.in.the.midst@xxxxxxxxx>]

Travus T Hipp has also commented on the act of putting 4000 soldiers
in the field to find 3 captured fighters (who the pentagon insists on,
laughably & propagandistically, calling hostages)

To paraphrase: " If you can't do what's always been done in war, go to
the nearest village, pull out 10 civilians at random, shoot them, tell
the town elders that's exactly what's going to happen every hour until
our soldiers are returned... If you can't do that, maybe you should
just... go... home."

Pass the word. -- Leigh

[May 14 2007] Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Nasty Brutal &
Vicious IS The 'Name Of The Game'â The Boy Scout Oath Is Difficult To
Apply To Modern Business & U.S. Military Operations In Iraq - 4,000
Soldiers Looking For Three, Count 'em 3, Missing Soldiers, Is
Dangerously Stupid And NOT Militarily Justifiable
<http://leighm.net/wp/2007/05/14/tth_070514/>

Reiterated in other words...
QUOTE: Guerrilla Entrepreneurs

"We know who that guy is. He's the big player down in that area. He's
sort of an affiliate of al-Qaida. We've tangled with him before."

General David H. Petraeus to the Army Times in reference to the
individual that has taken 3 American soldiers hostage.

Note the informal personal tone in reference to this "player." This
fits, given that this man is a guerrilla entrepreneur: he financed the
ad hoc team that overran the US outpost in order to generate hostages
(see the IED Marketplace for more). It worked.

The returns he was able to generate from this investment are pretty
amazing: the hunt, now running into weeks, to find the missing
soldiers has tied up 4,000++ soldiers, significant intel assets, and a
major portion of US command's attention/focus (which naturally slows
down decision making cycles).

<http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2007/05/quote_guerrilla.html>