Monday, February 06, 2006

Exit Strategy for the War on Terror!


Good news for our friends on the Left!


The Administration, with assistance from the conservative “think tanks” through-out the land, have put their collective heads together to create an exit strategy for the “War on Terror”.

After much consideration, and airing of opposing ideas, the spokesman for this group announced today they have reached a conclusion and it will be referred to the President for action.

Asked my media representatives for a hint of the report’s contents, the spokesman would say only that the entire strategy is encapsulated in one word:
Victory!

Pressed for more detail the spokesman returned to the lectern and summed the report up thusly:

“Victory will be achieved when the last terrorist is… dead”. He then turned and strode from the pressroom amid the gasps of surprised and mortified journalists.

The story above did not happen. I wish it had, but the truth is, it did not.

The truth alluded to in the story, though, is the fact that this war will go on and on until, at some point, we have killed the last of those would be "killers of Americans".

Now, I’m not so naive as to believe that there WILL BE AN END. There will be periods when the action will not be as obvious and even short periods of rest. But, by and large, this war will have no end.

I know you don’t like to hear such things… such pessimistic things, but this is a reality check, if you will. You see, there is no exit strategy, because there is no exit.

This so called War on Terror began in the 1970’s and will continue into the unseeable future. As long as the United States of America exists there will be those who would bring her down. Call it envy. Call it what you like. The fact remains that are people out there who want us dead. They don’t much care how they do it, even if it means their own death, or the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents. They simply do not care!

In the parts of the world where we DO care, we’re called civilized. As a result, we’re called the Great Satan and such by those who do not care. There is something spectacularly wrong with this picture.

I have contended, from the beginning of this War on Terror, that the US is not being aggressive enough. I still believe that. I’d prefer to see the US military in one long continuous attack leveling everything before it. I’d like to see punishment meted out.

I will never, so long as I live, be able to erase the pictures, in my mind, of those Twin Towers collapsing and the desperate “death jumps” made by people in those buildings, whose only choice was a slow, painful, death by fire and smoke, or a fairly quick death by jumping from that great height. They should never have been placed in such a position as to have to make that choice.

A videotape of those planes crashing into the Twin Towers, of those jumps, and of those buildings collapsing, should be aired every other hour, 24 hours a day, on all the TV networks in America, cable and broadcast. Americans need to be reminded that we are living under a constant death threat. Our death warrants have already been written. The terrorists are only waiting for a chance to execute those warrants.

And… I am supposed to be upset by the US torturing some AQ prisoners??? Don’t make me laugh!

Now... add to the mixture another madman, in the Middle East, in a race to build an atomic bomb which he will use, at his first opportunity, on Israel, or... lay off shore of the US, in international waters, and lob a Chinese made missile with a crude, but workable, atomic warhead on it, fired from the deck of a rusty old freighter, into New York City, or Washington, DC, or Charlotte, NC, or… well, you name the city.

Those of you who think the negotiations, within the UN, will actually matter are delusional. The UN is an unworkable body. It is as screwed-up, itself, as the Middle East.

So we are back to square one. It is kill or BE killed. We have to get serious about this war. Kill the alligators and drain the swamp. Stop holding back. Unleash our military and let them do what they do better than any other military in the world… kill people and break things.

The US should adopt the slogan of the Israeli Defense Forces… “Never again!”

Longstreet

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad you see it almost As I do sir. This war will go on forever, we can't make everyone like us. Our actions alone, when viewed by people with different views than our own, can be seen as agressive... or tyranical..... Now before you crucify me, you yourself have to admit the difference in opinions about The Civil War or as you call it The War for Southern Independence. Even the two terminologies show a difference in views and we are all on the same side now... almost (liberal vs. conservative). In a war that itself will never be over I can't believe we give "Special Powers" to leadership, warrantless searches, WARRANTLESS WIRETAPS, the whole patriot act or As I call it the "Cowardly Act". Allowing torture and condoning it, that in itself can be used to grow negative sentiment towards our government, (at home and abroad). We will not be judged by how we treat our allies but by how we treat our enemies.

Longstreet said...

Frank, I don't expect the country to believe as I do about torturing the enemy. That is my personal feelings. I could not care less.

But, the Constituional powers given the president during wartine are humongous. All US Presidents have used extraordinay powers during war. Plus, the additional powers the Congress gave President Bush when they gave him authority to pursue this war in any way he saw fit. They shot themselves in the foot with that one.

I agree, there are some areas I feel are too far to allow anyone to go, including a president, but the Congress did this. They know it. That's why they began backing up when the Patriot Act came up for renewal.

I expect there will be an ebb and flow to this war. Sometimes it will go in our favor and sometimes in the favor of the enemy. But I see no end.

Anonymous said...

Longstreet, I am glad to see that realize that this will have no end.

The fatal flaw in your thinking, as has been demonstrated by various empires throughout history, is that The State cannot go on killing it's enemies indefinitely and survive. Eventually, no matter how stable the system, the economy will simply not be able to keep up with the war machine.

The great philosopher Sun Tzu recognized this centuries ago. That's why he said: "He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor dampened, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue... In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns."

Anonymous said...

And unless congess gets a set.... and takes back some of these rediculous powers that the "gave" this guy the next one will have them and I fear will expand upon them further until all you have to do is be a member of the opposing party (be it democrat or republican) to be on a terrorist watch list. It is sad that all this time they accused the Dems. of growing the government, maybe in services but never in this much power. The first thing the next president should do is disban D.H.S. or at least reign it in a lot. maybe let D.N.S. patrol and secure our borders instead of spying on Americans who just may have opposing views from our leadership!
.......Good day old buddy.