Opinion Constant commentary breeds impatience

Less than two weeks into the Iraq campaign, war commentators proclaimed that the war was stalled and not going according to plan.

Theater Commander Gen. Tommy Franks responded, "We have the power to be patient."

By the time the ink dried on the pundits' impatient manifestos, U.S. tanks were rolling into Baghdad.

Perhaps nothing has distinguished the Iraq war from previous conflicts more than the proliferation of people willing to talk about it. Probably the most interesting of these war commentaries have come from "embedded" reporters who are risking their lives to bring a real-time war into our living rooms.

Certainly the most confusing reports have come from the legions of retired military officers who provide continuous commentary for every network and publication.

Since these folks are paid big bucks to say something, they've become pretty darn good at saying something whether they have anything to say or not.

I exclude myself from their company since I'm not laboring under any particular expectations. In fact, my previous columns observed that, unlike the first Gulf War, it's difficult for me to form opinions about the war planning since I no longer have access to intelligence reports.

Unfortunately, this constraint hasn't daunted those "other" guys, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, nearly blew a gasket over this issue.

In a wonder of understatement, Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, commented that criticisms voiced by the retired soldier-commentators were "not very helpful."

Rumsfeld acerbically pointed out that the retired corps of distinguished commentators is not familiar with current intelligence information, new tactical capabilities or the strategic picture necessary to draw the conclusions they were voicing.

Globally, diarrhea of the mouth spread faster than SARS, that new respiratory disease; and the malady hasn't been limited to former military leaders trying to relive their glory from retirement.

NBC's Peter Arnett was fired when he inexplicably announced on Iraqi television that the U.S. war plan had "failed." Since NBC reporters aren't usually on war plan distribution lists, it's safe to say that he had no basis for making such a ridiculous statement.

Meanwhile, Fox's Geraldo Rivera was kicked out of his combat coverage assignment when he announced the U.S. forces' location, direction of travel and destination. Then, just in case Iraqi agents had limited English skills, he drew a map in the sand.

Of course, Geraldo will be back with some glamorous, high-profile future escapade, and Arnett has already been picked up by the anti-American London tabloid, Daily Mirror.

In a screaming headline, the Mirror recently dubbed the "Shock and Awe" campaign as "Shocking and Awful," with a subtitle telling of "America's night of shame."

Rarely have so many had so much to say about something of which they know so little.

Part of the problem is that television has conditioned us to expect all the loose ends to be wrapped up in an hour's time.

Since Baghdad is about the same distance from Kuwait as Sisters is from Seattle, the typical armchair analyst figures that six hours should have been plenty of time.

Let's face it, war is real; and Americans are sheltered from reality. War is not about eating worms and voting Saddam off the island.

Editor's note: Captain Eisenbeis is a former planner for the U.S. Navy Maritime Defense Zone and holds a graduate degree in strategy and policy studies from the U.S. Naval War College.