Sunday, March 04, 2007

America Has Decided to Lose the War!


This Post First Ran In June of 2006!

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America Has Decided to Lose the War!
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It is time for the US to take the leash off it’s military and let them wrap this thing up in Iraq so we can get on with Iran!

I haven’t been this frustrated with the “Government” running a war since Johnson and McNamara!

Either we are in it to win, or we need to get the hell out!

There is no reason to allow our Soldiers and Marines to get picked off as we are doing. When the government forces them to fight with their hands tied behind them… they get killed. It is a long “drawn out slaughter” which wears them down mentally.

I sincerely thought we had learned something from Viet Nam! Apparently not!

Some have called this a “minimalist effort” at fighting this war. I interpret that to mean that we fight it with as little effort as is possible. (Just enough to stay even with the board… but not enough to gain a clear victory.) I must tell you… that is pure, 100%, unadulterated, BS!

The frustration of the grunts must be absolutely awful!

Add to that mix an anti-war movement, on the left, in the USA, and you have a formula for ridicule and defeat. The “useful idiots” of the left are responsible for most of the deaths of US military personnel in Iraq. The give aid and comfort to the enemy… on a daily basis.

As I see it, the US needs to do only two things to regain its position of respect in the world.

One: Unleash it’s military!

Two: Lock up, put in jail, imprison, whatever…those who practice Sedition in the US. I mean from the top to the bottom. From the halls of Congress to the neighborhood beer hall.

Notice… I didn’t mention “winning hearts and minds”. That is a formula for a loser. I don’t give a hoot whether they like us or not. I want them to fear us! I want them to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if they strike at the US they will pay with everything they have… including their home, their family, their country, their lives… everything!

It is shameful to place our military in the position they are in. We’re demanding that those kids march into harm’s way… and not fight back!

When they temporarily "lose it" and clean out a “rats nest” they wind up facing a court martial and imprisonment when they ought to be given medals!

Look, this is a dog eat dog world. The bad guys don’t play nice! As long as WE play nice we will continue to be trounced… all over the world.

Turn our guys loose and let them do the job. They’ll clean that mess up, in the Middle East, in short order.

Let them use tactical nukes when they need to use them! Let THEM decide when! There are a few towns in Iraq that would be better nuked. Clean out the cancer, which is infecting the whole area.

There is no reason to set our military up for defeat as we are doing. Our soldiers will fight… when they are allowed to do so!

What a pathetic mess we are. Our politicians are wringing their hands because they are “deeply concerned” that the world won’t like us!

Who gives a DAMN WHAT the world thinks?!

I learned, as a child, that people would believe of me what they liked. It mattered little, if at all, what I did or, didn’t do. So, I have lived my life on my own terms. You don’t like it? Tough!

But to watch our nation destroy itself, whining about who likes us and who doesn’t, is embarrassing, even painful.

The Prez should call in the Joint Chiefs and give them the order to: “Take Iraq”. Period! “Call me when it’s done. I have something else for you to do.” Then get out of the way and let them do their job.


No doubt I’ll hear for some of you that the US should never be the first to use nukes. Well, BS! We blew that one, didn’t we? And come to think of it… we WON!

What’s the point of having them if we’re not going to use them? I know. I know. As a deterrent! Well, deterrents only work when you are fighting someone who actually gives a damn whether they live, or die, like the Russians, for instance. But this crowd we’re fighting now, couldn’t care less whether they live or not. So, why put American fighting men in harms way. Just NUKE the bastards and be done with it!

Yes, I AM frustrated! I’m frustrated at a piss-ant Congress that wets its collective pants when a pneumatic hammer makes a bang in the building! I’m frustrated at the ever-increasing speed at which America is sliding into socialism. I’m frustrated at the loss of Greatness in America. I’m frustrated at the lack of spine in the American people.

I don’t like my country to be the butt of jokes… as it is now. And I really don’t like getting our young men, and young women, killed because our leaders haven’t a clue how to lead!

You want an end to this war? Well forget about it. Until America DECIDES TO WIN IT… we’ll keep on losing!

Longstreet


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12 comments:

Jon said...

Longstreet,

I appreciate this post so much because you post much of what I feel, but cannot express it as eliquently as you do. We must go in with overwhelming force and show all of these Islamic Extremists that they cannot win and that their only option is to lay down thier weapons and join their elected government and be a part of the country.

I saw John "Defeatist" Murtha this morning on Meet the Press and he sounded so defeated and he thinsk that ourt military is weak and that we cannot win in Iraq. That is the most disgusting thing that I have heard coming from a so called War Hero and a man that claims he is a patriot. He wants to cut funding for our troops just to force our brave men and women out of Iraq because he thinks they cannot win in Iraq. Tim Russert asked him point blank on numerous ocassions about his desire to cut funding and everytime he sidestpped the question in true Democrat style and claimed that it won't happen because he doesn't have enough votes to cut funding for our brave men and women in Iraq.

Rosecovered,

I appreciate you candor, but if you truly feel that the Military Industrial Complex is such a problem then why were you a part of it for 36 years as you claim? Without the Military Industrial Complex where exactly would we be as far as military hardware that is keeping us in the forefront of world military might?

I agree that politics as usual neds to change, but to scrap the whole apparatus isn't a guaranty it will fix everything.

Anonymous said...

The main problem behind the conduct of the Iraq War ( and all other conflict post 1945 ) is the world holds the western military powers up to a certain standard. We are expected to behave in a gentlemanly and polite manner. National media organisations ABC, CNN, BBC etc, are curiously quiet when it is time to hold international terrorist organisations, FARC, ETA, RIRA, CIRA, Hezbollah, Hamas etc responsible for their conduct. No words of dissent have passed the lips of the UN, EU or the Arab States on the mass sectarian murders taking place daily in Iraq. It is far easier to aportion blame on coalition forces, and more specifically the US, for the deaths of Iraqi policemen murdered by their fellow citizens. Those who argue that the US or UK have violated the Geneva Conventions in the conduct of the war ignore the blatant violations of Iraqi/Syrian/Iranian/Pakistani insurgents, whose members wear no uniform, deliberately hide amongst the civilian population and fire weapons from residential areas. These forces conduct none of their operations within the ‘rules of war’ — and yet the international community and western media fail to mention it. Why? Because no one expects terrorists to follow the rules.

The old style of warfare, the clash of mass national armies—the system of war since Napoleon, ended above Hiroshima. The West failed to understand this due to the cold war.

Regards
Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie

Longstreet said...

Thank you, Jon.

On the Military/Industrial complex question... frankly, I'm not so sure. Seems to me that the combination of the two has produced the mightiest military machine the world has ever known. NOW, if, and when, the Industrial side of the equation begins to influence war planning, and war fighting, then it becomes an accident looking for a place to happen.

Also, it seems to me that the US military has two choices... it can either expand itself to a size large enough that it can produce all the goods it needs, and supply all the services it needs, much as the Chicom military does now, and become a self perpetuating machine stronger than the government it answers to...,Or... it can continue to farm out contracts to industry to supply goods and services it needs in order for the military to remain relatively small and continue to answer to a civilian authority.

The so-called "Peace Dividend", the US suposedly enjoyed at the close of the Cold War, NEVER EXISTED... except in the minds of those on the Left, and/or of the liberal persuasion.

As is usual, in American history, we immediately downsized our military just as we have done after every war, thus setting ourselves up for every pip-squeak nation, or group of outlaws on the planet, to hit us with sucker-punches. Then we had to mobilize, and rebuild, and get an effective standing army into the field. Usually they are under equipped and under trained. The "Peace Dividend" is the kind of BS we allow ourselves to wallow in... and, when the cold water is thrown in our faces it needlessly causes the deaths of American men and women who can do no more than hold the line while we train and equip a new fighting force.

Look, the days of fighting a war, and then resting for a few decades, IS OVER FOR AMERICA! If we wish to continue as a nation, we will be at war for the duration of our existance. It is as simple as that.

The days are quickly approaching when the frontlines will be right here on the North American continent. Only a small portion of Americans are mentally equipped for such a future. Those of us who are, for the most part, are well past our prime as soldiers in anybody's army.

If you want to feel frustration, stand in OUR shoes, for a while, and watch your country disintegrate right before your eyes after a life time trying to build the future for your children and grandchildren.

That is where many of us veterans are these days. We are furious at what we see happening to our country, to our military, and to our government. It is as though this is an entirely different nation than the one we served. And it IS!

The heart is gone from this once great nation. Nowadays we have to nuance everything. You can't get a straght anwer out of anyone about anything. Back in the day, you knew where at man stood, period. If you didn't... he'd damn sure tell you.

There is a line from the Scriptures I remember. Something like "Let your answer be Yea or Nay." There's another which says something like: "Be ye either Hot or Cold. For I will spew the Lukewarm out of MY mouth". That's what I'm talking about!

America has lost it's footing. We are no longer sure of ourselves. A country cannot fight a war for it's survival unless it is SURE it wants to survive. And America is NOT SURE ANYMORE!

Half of America wants to live as Europeans... and... the other half wants to live as AMERICANS! And believe me... there is a hell of a difference!

America no longer wishes to be THE Super Power. We cannot take the abuse a Super power, ANY Super Power, will take from the nations jealous, and envious, of our position. The American Left feels this heavy, heavy, load of Guilt for simply working harder, being more dedicated to our familues, and being the most, all around, sucessful country on the planet. Therefore, they feel they must apologise for our position on top of the heap. Their feeling of guilt and their insistance on apologies is seen, and righfully, as a WEAKNESS that is eating away at the Heart of this once Great Nation.

May God help us.. for we surely can't help ourselves!

best regards,

Longstreet

Longstreet said...

"The old style of warfare, the clash of mass national armies—the system of war since Napoleon, ended above Hiroshima."

********************

Absolutely "spot on"!

"Charlie", is the UK as screwed-up as the US over this "PC" war fighting??? I ask... for it is my opinion that we are not going to be able to sustain this kind of posture in war zones, anywhere in the world, and walk away victorious... ever again.

Best regards,

Longstreet

RoseCovered Glasses said...

Longstreet,

To answer your question on why I was a part of it for 36 years:

In 1968, I came home from serving two US Army tours in Vietnam, having been awarded five medals, including a Bronze Star. During my second tour I acquired Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression. Treatment would not become available for either ailment until the mid to late 70's. Returning to the University of Minnesota at Morris, I found that most of my former classmates were either facing the military draft or were violently against the war. I was not their favorite person.

Feeling isolated and alone, I was unable to relate to my family due to untreated Depression and PTSD. Disillusioned with school, I moved to Minneapolis Minnesota and began a career in the Defense Industrial Complex that would span over three decades from 1969 through 2005. I thought that through working on defense systems, I could contribute to the quality and quantity of weapons that the next generation would take to war. Given a clearly defined mission and the best armaments and systems in the world, I believed that another Vietnam could be avoided for the American Soldier. In pursuit of this goal, I participated in the design, development and production of 25 large scale weapons systems under Federal Government and Foreign Military Sales Contracts. I worked in several different disciplines for the companies that produced these weapons, negotiating and controlling the associated contracts with procurement agencies in the US Armed Forces and in 16 allied countries.

By the time treatment for PTSD and Depression became available, I had such high security clearances that had I been treated for these disorders, the US Government would have revoked my clearances and my career would have ended or would have been sharply curtailed. This quandary led to my journey through the Defense Industrial Complex. I found that accepting extreme challenges and succeeding at them became a way to displace PTSD and elevate depressive moods. For extended periods of time this method of self-management led to a satisfying, although somewhat adventurous and diversified life. However, down periods always occurred, especially after the latest challenge had been met. A new challenge was then required. Family, friends and acquaintances were often puzzled by the frequent changes in my job sites and locations. Two marriages fell by the wayside.

I became known in the industry as a front-end loaded trouble shooter on complex projects, installing processes and business systems required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. These systems included estimating and pricing, proposal preparation, contract administration, cost and schedule control, program management, design to cost, life cycle cost, export management and other specialties unique to US Government Contracts. Getting through government source selection boards and surviving audits during competition was a significant challenge for defense contractors. Installing required business systems after contract award, under ambitious cost, schedule and technical conditions, was an even more difficult undertaking. I became a leader in the problem solving and creative processes necessary to win contracts and successfully fulfill them. When my mood demanded it, there was always a new job, with a new challenge and a subsequent elevated feeling from success. It was not unusual for a career professional in the Defense Industry to move regularly with the ebb and flow of competitive procurements and associated government funding shifts.

I came to know many of the career military and civil servants who managed the government procurement process. These individuals never went away, regardless of elections or politics. They developed the alternatives from which elected officials must choose. The American Public rarely heard from these powerful insiders, while the insiders slanted the choices supplied to elected officials in a self-perpetuating manner. I recognized the mirror image way in which procuring agencies and defense contractors organized their operations on the largest systems acquisitions. Key executives regularly moved back and forth between government and industry. I often observed the short, happy life of a defense company program manager. Appointed by the powerful insiders to head a single project, he had no authority over company resources, he perpetually competed with other program managers for the same talent pool and he always took the heat from management when things did not go well. His counterpart in the government quarters had similar experiences. I often supported several program managers at the same time. They all were desperate to achieve success. They each believed they had the most important program in the company.

In early 2005, approaching age sixty, I found myself unable to self-manage an extremely deep depressive episode. The journey had simply wound down. This situation nearly resulted in death. Recovering with help from my family and the US Veteran's Administration, I now reside in a veteran's home, volunteering through the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) to Small, Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned and Minority-Owned businesses that are pursuing contracts with the Federal Government. I provide advice, alternatives and business s based on my experiences. It is refreshing to witness the successes of small, motivated and flexible companies. I believe they deserve every special consideration they have achieved under our system of government.

After thirty-six years in the Defense Industrial Complex my greatest satisfaction came from watching "Stormin Norman" and his Gulf War Forces defeat the Iraqi Army in Operation Desert Storm. They used the Abrams Main Battle Tank, the Hellfire Missile and an array of communications and other systems on which I worked. I have had the privilege of meeting several young soldiers coming back from current conflicts in the Middle East who have praised these systems for their life saving performances.

Operation Desert Storm had a clearly defined mission to liberate a small country from an aggressor. We accomplished the mission utilizing the best weapons in the world. Unfortunately, we did not leave the area. The lessons of Vietnam have not been remembered and once again political factors govern our presence in several countries. This time it is the Middle East. A Future Combat System (FCS) is now under development geared for urban warfare with unmanned vehicles, state of the art sensors and remote standoff capabilities. The terrorist enemy has grown to become a formidable force, cable of striking without notice even within our own country. He threatens the world economy with violent disruptions in several domains at the same time. He is a product of our own creation, rebelling against the "US Police Force" with help from neighbors who play either benign or active roles. Our enemy knows his neighborhood far better than we do. US intelligence and military capabilities are strained to the maximum monitoring perceived hot spots all over the globe. We must face the fact that our long term presence in other countries is resented.

How much longer can we afford to be the "World's Policeman"? We are spending over $500B per year for defense, homeland security and nation building. Investments we are making in developing new democracies are draining our domestic programs such as health care, stifling the education of our young people and limiting research and development in valuable commercial technologies. The largest corporations selling to our government are no more than extensions of our government in the cloak of industry. They are not in the business of making money for the stockholder. They are in the business of spending money for the government. As a result they are some of the poorest growth stocks on Wall Street. Recent consolidation in the Defense Industrial Complex has dramatically reduced competition. Only public laws mandating a twenty per cent allocation of Federal Contract Funding to small business have kept diversification in the mix. Even then, much of the moneys that flow to small business go through a select group of large business prime contractors who add their respective overhead and general administrative expense to the small business cost and pass it on to the government.

When we consider the largest evolving countries in the world today, such as China, India and others, we should note that they are successfully competing with us in a fast moving, complex world economy. These countries are not all pure democracies and probably never will be. No overt action on our part created these powerhouses. As we struggle to compete with them we must have education, research and development and a healthy work force to keep pace. How much can we afford to spend forcing our capitalistic ideologies on other societies? Events have proven that the world has become a tightly wound place economically. Countries who wish to succeed and grow will play the game anyway.

I hope that this account of my experiences has supplied useful insights into the US Government Defense Industrial Complex. My odyssey was driven by a need to manage illnesses acquired in warfare. I found a way to deal with the maladies for years by spreading myself thin and accepting every new challenge. I thrilled at success and moved on after defeat, pursuing a misguided goal. Out of necessity I have now been forced to look inward, wind down to a smaller perspective, take care of my health - begin serving the little guy.

Perhaps it is time for our country to consider a similar transition.

Longstreet said...

Thank you, Rosecoveredd glasses for that answer. However, I did not ask the question, Jon did. Nevertheless your answer has been informative and certainly added a great deal to this blog. I appreciate it. Insight is what it is all about, anyway.

Also, Rosecovered, allow me to express my gratitude for your service to this country. You have a hell of a resume. One you should certainly be proud of.

Also, allow me to extend an invitation for your input on this blogsite anytime. I may not always agree with you, but you present your arguments in a well reasoned, cogent, and mannerly fashion, and I, and my readers, appreciate it.

I salute you sir.

Best regards,

Longstreet

Anonymous said...

"Charlie", is the UK as screwed-up as the US over this "PC" war fighting???

I think you already know the answer. The worst offenders at denigrating and embarrassing Britain are the British. I do not think the war was winnable from day one.

There is too much infighting among the Western powers. Nobody can agree on what is a terrorist. Hezbollah is not a terrorist organisation according to the EU! Most of the EU has a problem with the UK because we are friendlier to the US than to Europe and there are those in the US that poor scorn on us because we are part of the EU. We can’t win.

Personally, I think the media has a lot to answer for. For example, the BBC has 8500 journalists, so many in fact, that some of them are ‘embedded’ with the Taliban in Afghanistan. When I did my tour, my wife was watching reports of the BBC interviewing Taliban regional commanders in Helmand Province. Could you imagine sitting at home on 6th June 1944 listening to reports by CNN, BBC etc embedded with the 4 SS Panzer Division? When I first joined the Army I was taught the role of Infantry was: "To seek and close with the enemy, to kill or capture him, to seize and hold ground, by day or by night regardless of weather or terrain" It did not include that my role was to roll over and take a kicking from a self serving sensationalist media, there to criticise with clinical detail every move I made on the battlefield from the comfort of a climate controlled office, in order to allow them to get some Oxbridge educated human rights idiot on the BBC and continue to undermine the morale of the troops.

Another example. Later on this month on St Patrick’s Day, you will see pictures of your Commander in Chief in the Rose Garden shaking hands with the leaders of Sinn Fein. Whether you agree or not with their politics the fact remains they are/were terrorists. The fact that they took 30 years to murder the same total as those that were murdered on 9/11 does not lessen the fact that they have no morals. They organise ‘fund raising events’ and political rallies for Hamas/Hezbollah/FARC/ETA as they see themselves as part of the great oppressed of the world by the ‘imperialist nations.’ Sinn Fein and Hezbollah are one of the same, a political party with an armed gang in tow or is it an armed gang with a political party in tow? A large proportion of UK troops in Afghanistan at present are form Northern Ireland – seeing the leader of the war on terror meeting and greeting those that have spent the past 30 years trying to overthrow democracy in their country does not send out the right message. This is what confuses one or two of us dumb Europeans. There are no acceptable terrorists.

Best Wishes

Longstreet said...

Charlie, let me see if I have this correct? You believe the war cannot be won… not because the troops aren’t capable of winning it, but because the US, the UK, and the other “Western Countries” are not behind the troops? Is that it.

I agree with you, reference all the terrorist organizations including those headquartered in Ireland.

I wonder what your opinion is concerning whether we shall ever see peace in the western world (defined as we have known peace in the past) ever again. My opinion is that we will not.

Best regards to you!

Longstreet

RoseCovered Glasses said...

Here's the answer to your question on peace:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/the_roots_of_to.html

RoseCovered Glasses said...

Here's the answer to your question on peace:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/the_roots_of_to.html

Anonymous said...

“Charlie, let me see if I have this correct? You believe the war cannot be won… not because the troops aren’t capable of winning it, but because the US, the UK, and the other “Western Countries” are not behind the troops? Is that it?”

Only Western liberal elites would argue that by liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein the Shias, Sunnis and Kurds would all kiss and make up. We (the West) are attempting to impose our values, a competitive multiparty political system, universal adult suffrage, regularly contested elections etc, on the Middle East, where historically there has never been the slightest glimpse of democracy taking hold. Name any three Arab democracies? The only people left in Iraq are those too poor or too stupid to leave, the remainder would like to kill you. Hardly the building blocks of a budding democracy. We cannot force democracy on somebody, they have to grasp it for themselves - this is why I believe that a final victory will always be beyond our grasp. The success of the invasion was never in question, the problem was always ‘what to do after we had over-run the country?’ If we had packed up and all returned home, the media and left-wing would have cried foul, if we stayed they would have complained of occupation/empire/imperialism. That is why I believe it was unwinable from the start - we are our own worst enemy. The West believes that all cultures and races are equal. They are not. Our capacity for equality may be true, but when the Romans left Britain the indigenous population forgot all about aqueducts, under floor heating and democracy and slipped into the dark ages. The populations of the Middle East/Islamic countries have contributed little or nothing to the modern development of this planet. If Western Society became extinct next weekend, the entire world would revert to a new dark age.

“I wonder what your opinion is concerning whether we shall ever see peace in the western world (defined as we have known peace in the past) ever again. My opinion is that we will not.”

I totally agree. Allow me to quote- “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

Regards

Longstreet said...

Thanks, "Charlie". I see nothing to disagree with in what you have written above.

This is the kind of "mess" we get into when we try to "nation-build". For the life of me, I cannot understand where we came up with the arrogance to believe that we could actually build a nation, especially one with no solid foundation... at least with no foundation in the modern world!

I can only hope that we learn from this... but I won't hold my breath. We Americans have extremely short memories. I had hoped we had learned from the Viet Nam experience... but, sadly, I was wrong!

Best regards, "Charlie"!

Longstreet

PS: One of these days I'm gonna ask for an interpretation of:
"Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie"