When You Don’t Fight To Win

First and foremost, the recent indiscriminate murder of Afghan women and children by a member of the United States military is utterly and completely wrong and must be appropriately adjudicated and punished under the provisions of The Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is more than capable of dealing with this atrocity.  Proceedings should be swiftly initiated and brought to a timely close following the rules of due process.  Our perpetrator – our responsibility.

There are, however, collateral issues that must be considered and addressed.  A thorough investigation may provide some understanding of what may have motivated an Army noncommissioned officer to commit such a horrible series of acts.  But equally important should be the realization that the blundering of Washington’s policy makers can play a decisive role in creating an atmosphere that breeds an expanding potential for such unintended consequences.

The alleged perpetrator of the Afghanistan atrocities was on his fourth tour to the Middle East conflicts.  This is not offered as an excuse for his horrible crimes, but the U.S. military – despite its valiant successes over nearly two decades of conflict overseas – is stretched to the breaking point in both the areas of personnel and equipment and is currently under nearly unbearable stress that will be exacerbated by the projected cuts to defense spending resulting from the complete dysfunctionality of Congress (particularly the Democratic-controlled Senate) when it comes to the allocating of federal funds through a realistic budget process.

America has not “won” a war since WWII.  We struggled to an armistice in Korea.  We turned tail and left Vietnam, defeated by a coalition of North Vietnamese, Chinese and Russian aid, weak-willed domestic politicians, a war-weary U.S. public and Communist-backed “peace movements”.  We have, for all practical purposes, abandoned Iraq and are now preparing for a hasty retreat from Afghanistan.

When you commit to fight, force is not necessarily the first option, but once that commitment to wage war is made then the objective should be to neutralize the threat.  From this perspective, America’s recent battles, for the most part, have not achieved that goal – killing Osama bin Laden, being one notable exception.

It should now be obvious that in both Iraq and Afghanistan an end result was not clearly delineated.  Year after year, those two conflicts have dragged on with objectives murky or in some cases changed in mid-stream.  “Nation-building”, “winning hearts and minds”, forming and training police and military are not the tasks that our armed forces are constructed for and forcing them into these roles has been a massive waste of our resources, just as it was in other post-WWII conflicts.

The objective in employing force should be to destroy both the enemy’s will and capacity to do you damage.  Break things and hurt combatants to that end, making sure that your adversary understands that if the threat again rises you will return and impose the same punishment.  Then go home and prepare for the next threat.

The ongoing policies of appeasement, waffling, disengagement, subservience and indecision from several administrations are what has prevented victory.  If you plan to start a fight, make damned sure that you have a plan to win it.

Civilian leadership insists on maintaining control of the military and setting the policies that they use our strength to impose.  Therefore they should also bear responsibility for all that results – including “rogue actions”.

More Un-nerving Obama Antics

In accordance with what has become an Obama Administration tradition, the President announced late last Friday that American forces would be withdrawn from Iraq before the end of the year.  “The troops will be home for the holidays” cooed the president, using the dead time at the end of the news week to drop this major bombshell under the guise of keeping a campaign promise.  Supposedly, the U.S. support for the emerging government of Iraq will be limited to 4,000 to 5,000 “contractors” with a tiny force of American troops remaining to protect the U.S. Embassy.

The first thought that popped into my mind was, how would you like to be one of the “contractors” or a member of the unit tasked with safeguarding our Embassy personnel and property?  Damn!  Talk about a “pucker factor”.  Every American who remains in that country will become a highly visible, designated target for a variety of eager killers to work over.  A massacre is hardly out of the question.

Equally important is the horrifying message that was immediately sent to and received by the terrorist-oriented government of Iran – that the U.S. has once again caved in, turned tail, capitulated, reneged on its promises to assist an ally.  Once again, open season on Americans both military and civilian has been provided to our enemies by the craven actions of those of our leaders who are willing to run any risk to lower America’s international profile and/or maintain their political power.

There are those who will celebrate the end of our commitment in Iraq, forgetting that the battles there strongly resemble the scenarios of Vietnam, where world powers used that unfortunate country as a theater to act out the major conflict between the forces of Communism and the defenders of freedom.  “Bring the troops home”, they say.  “We have done the best that we could”, they insist.

All the while ignoring the fact that we have been at war for more than a decade with the forces of international terrorism backed by totalitarian regimes whose long-term goal is quite simple: worldwide dominance.

These dedicated enemies of western civilization include but are not limited to: Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah and various flavors of Al Qaeda, all of whom have shown an affection for terrorist support that has resulted in tens of thousands of non-combatant deaths.

The 800-lb gorilla in this volatile mix is Iran, whose most recent contribution is a plot involving an attempt to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador by blowing up a Washington, D.S. restaurant.  Investigation has shown that this plot was engineered by Gholam Shakuri – an official in the Iranian Quds Force, the military arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – and involved Shakuri’s cousin Mansoor Arbabsiar who emigrated to the U.S. from Iran in the early 1980′s and gained citizenship through marriage to an American woman.

Iran has long provided logistical, financial and personnel support for groups in Iraq who have killed many American military people and their past terrorist operations have included training inside Iran for IED preparation and deployment for their Iraqi cohorts, military supplies through the Qud pipeline, and also deep involvement in the smuggling of arms shipments intended for Gaza but intercepted by the Israelis in 2002 and 2009 – not to mention their ongoing blatant attempts to construct nuclear weapons over both the impotent protests of the United Nations and the clueless Obama Administration.

So, is it rational to ignore the inevitable attempts that Iran will exert to insinuate itself into the framework of a recently weakened Iraqi government?

Hardly, but this is just one more milestone in the approaching dissolution of American hegemony that is being engineered by America’s incompetent leadership.

Remembering

For many of us here in Maine, it is expected solace that the lilac bushes will be in bloom by Memorial Day.  With the cold, wet spring that we have encountered, that may not hold true this year.  But this minor delay is a far cry from the destruction and misery that a procession of tornadoes has wrought upon our fellow citizens in the Midwest and parts of the South.  Our hope and prayers need be directed toward them, both for a cessation of the destruction and an easing of their burden.

My roots in New England are deep and go back many generations.  Cemeteries in more than one state hold the remains of my kin.  Military service has been a trait shared by many of them; grandfathers, fathers, sons, uncles and cousins, volunteers and draftees.  As the years pass, graves multiply and those who were once young assume the mantle grudgingly worn by all elders.

Memorial Day holds a wealth of memories for all of us.  It of course involves sadness, for we no longer enjoy the company of those who cannot soothe us with their physical presence.  The day involves honoring the departed, whether it is a grave site visit, participating in parades and ceremonies, or a simple quiet reflection on those who have in the past shared our lives.

I am a member of the Masonic Lodge in Freeport, ME, a group that played a pivotal part in obtaining a piece of steel from the remains of the buildings that fell on 9/11/2001, to be used as the base for a town memorial to those who were killed on that horrible day as well as to the living and dead heroes who saved many other potential victims through their personal sacrifices.  Members of the Maine National Guard and their vehicles transported the steel from New York to Maine, accompanied by riders of the Patriot Guard and other motorcycle clubs and aided by law enforcement officers and other first responders.  A welcoming ceremony was held this past weekend and a number of local groups have banded together to formulate additional ceremonies and activities planned for the weekend surrounding September 11, 2011.

But this upcoming weekend belongs to remembrance of those who no longer share our lives.  There are far too many fallen military personnel who have served our nation well over the decades and they deserve at least a moment of reflection, particularly the young people who have sacrificed all in the maelstrom of the Middle East.

Whomever you have the opportunity to honor – and there are many who have shared our lives that deserve that respect – take a few moments from your daily lives for at least a brief prayer, or even a “Thank You”.

Remember ……. don’t forget or overlook.

America Settles a Score

When you mess with the big dog you will get bit – even if it takes him some time to find the right opportunity.

In this particular case it took nearly a decade for our country to track down and administer what most would regard as belated justice to a crafty and elusive mass murderer who planned the act of war that took the lives of over 3,000 innocent civilians.

The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of a Navy Seal Team has already begun to show positive results.  The Saudi Interior Ministry today reported that Khaled al Qahtani, a senior al Qaeda member who was high on Riyadh’s most wanted list, has turned himself in to them.  And the successful hunt for and killing of bin Laden sends a long overdue message to the rest of the world (terrorists in particular) that the United States is fully capable of exacting revenge on those who attempt to destroy us.  So much for the “helpless, pitiful giant” label that some have been so eager to bestow upon our nation.

There is a lot of credit to share on this one.

First, to the truly excellent performance of the Seals involved in the “boots on the ground” segment.

Second, the President and his staff are to be commended for making the monumental decision to terminate the career of the world’s most wanted man.  And equally important was their success in keeping this operation a secret throughout its entire lengthy planning and preparation stages.

Third, kudos to the large numbers of support personnel from different branches of the military who planned, directed and supported a true team effort.  Everyone from pilots to logistics specialists, to the construction personnel who created in Afghanistan a mockup of the villa in which bin Laden was reported to be hiding deserve a heartfelt, “Well done!”.

Fourth, the entire U.S. intelligence community deserves special recognition for their untiring pursuit of the information that would give our troops the opportunity to deliver the payback.

And let us not forget the Bush Administration, which initially set the wheels in motion and kept the effort going that would eventually produce the opportunity for vengeance.

There are those, of course, who decry the “savagery” of America’s attack and wail that every attempt should have been made to bring back Osama bin Laden for trial rather than “executing” him.  One of Maine’s Congressional Representatives (House Member Chellie Pingree) expressed confusion as to why bin Laden’s body had been buried at sea.  That such action prevented the possibility of the establishment of a shrine to be a beacon for the world’s collection of terrorists apparently did not occur to this clueless nincompoop – let alone that Muslim custom that the body should be buried with the head facing toward Mecca was thusly circumvented.

There will undoubtedly be many more details to be provided for the media to endlessly expound upon over the days and weeks to come.  It is one of the major events of this year and should provide endless attraction for a worldwide audience.

But for me, there is simply one irrefutable fact.  One of the most deadly, destructive, potent conduits of evil in the world is gone.

And that is just reason for ongoing celebration.