Some General Thoughts on War

Although the War on Terror has been going on for at least 5 years now, this blog is new and so I'm going to throw in my two cents. This post is mostly about war in general, but is, I believe, relevant to the current conflict.

But first, the all-important disclaimers, lest someone should stumble upon this unread blog.

1) I'm no expert on War or military tactics, except in a very general sense. (shoot first, ask questions of the body - things like that)

2) Since I am a citizen of this country who regularly exercises her Constitutional Right to Vote, I will also be exercising my Constitutional Right of Free Speech by giving what I can only say is my opinion on current events. You may disagree with me, if you wish. (But you shouldn't - I like to be right.)

What I mostly have a problem with, in this conflict, is the way we seem to be walking around on eggshells. There is no such thing as a compassionate war. War is War. It is ugly and dirty, and the quicker it is over with a clear-cut winner, the better off everyone will be. In the words of Sun-Tzu "When doing battle, seek a quick victory".

The United States clearly has (or had, as the case may be) more manpower, more money, better weapons, better technology, and better intelligence gathering methods. We should have blown them to smithereens immediately. To those who scoff, saying that a man defending his home will always prevail, I say, you're right. But I believe that the insurgents are not men defending their homes, they are paid mercenaries.

You may also say that these men are fighting for a cause greater than themselves. They are fighting the ultimate fight. They fight for Islam. I say to you, very true. But here's the kicker...wait for it...the plain and simple truth is that we are right and they are wrong. I'll probably be branded an intolerant racist for saying that. Pshaw - I don't care. The fact is that this war is about good and evil. It's not for territory, or spoils, whatever the lefty oil conspirists say.

I repeat, War is an ugly thing. No one likes the thought of innocent civilians being thrown in the middle of a conflict between men with guns. The reality is, though, that the other side uses the civilians because they think that Americans don't have the stomach for that kind of bloodshed. We'll never bomb a mosque on purpose, so that's where they hide. We'll never shoot up an elementary school, so they'll use it as a shield. I don't want anyone to die, but this world we live in is ugly and unfair.

I know I'm playing Monday morning quarterback, but I think that if we had bombed the hell out the entire mountain region where Osama is rumored to have been hiding from the get-go, we would have either a) killed him, or b) killed enough people that he would have been turned in by those who knew where he was, to stop the bombing. That's a simplistic way of looking at warfare, but, see my disclaimer.

If that strategy worked, then the next thing I would do is give a World Wide press conference and list the countries on our shit list in the Middle East and tell those countries with the world listening that we will not put up with this terrorist nonsense anymore. Some countries would do what Libya has done, which I call progress. Some countries would enable groups like Hezbollah and Hamas to continue. At which point, all aid and economic favors stop immediately. All loans called in. It is our right as a nation to give our money and aid and charity as we see fit. The people in those nations will rise up in defiance of their government, or they will live under the yoke of tyranny. Not our problem anymore. There would have been no need for a war in Iraq.

Unless of course, a country on the shit list, like Iraq was doing something naughty, like, say, funding and planning terrorist plots against the U.S. or maybe not following U.N. sanctions, of which we are a member (the U.N. - what a complete and total waste of time. sigh). At which point, we go in, guns blazing, for the shock and awe that we were promised. I guarantee you, one or two countries levelled, and the rest will fall into line.

Part 3 of my brilliant plan involves the moral relativist nations and surrender monkeys from sundry parts of the globe. They are either openly with us or openly against us. The plain fact is, the US truly is the most powerful nation on Earth. We either invoke it when necessary or lose respect. We became fat, dumb and happy after the Cold War, and numerous military actions in the late part of the 20th century showed our reluctance to follow through.

They fight the good fight with us, or stay home and watch it on TV, but we cut off their allowance. Again, a simplistic view, but cut and dry.

Part 4 is the PR campaign. If the Middle East "fell in line" as a result of our kicking ass and taking names, we'd have a bunch of pouting, rage-filled muslim jihadists planning the next sneak attack. So we do what we did in Germany and Japan. Give them back their self-respect, help rebuild, but put some bases here and there as a reminder of what we'll do if they step out of line. I know that's what we're trying to do now in Iraq, but it ain't working. Why? Because we didn't get all the bad guys first, and we tried to set up a government too soon.

First, kill as many bad guys as possible with no regard for where they're hiding. If the citizens know you won't hesitate to blow up anywhere or anyone harboring terrorists, they're more likely to turn them in. Second, set up bases and bring in folks to rebuild. Turn on the PR machine and get the folks to love Americans and all the things that make this country great. Then help them set up their government.

Update: 10/9/06

Little Green Footballs reports on Waging War With Sensitivity. Our soldiers DO NOT need this kind of crap. They need to be given the tools to WIN and COME HOME ALIVE. That's it. End of Story.