WhatFinger


It is 2012. It is time for a change of Presidents and a time for a new approach in Foreign and Defense Policy

Afghanistan’s Kill Radius: The Forgotten Soldier.



"Once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory." - General Douglas MacArthur, 1951 Farewell Speech to Congress This article is a polemic. An Associated Press Article about the Afghan War caught my attention and here is my two cents.
My friends, the Afghan War has become a distinct and dismal dread for all who serve and their Families. Fewer people applaud in the Airports, or greet soldiers with, "Thank you for your service." The parades have stopped. The gatherings have become smaller and more familial. Can it be that people too absorbed in their economic woes to stop and truly reflect? Reflect? Yes, reflect. Reflect on how you would think about this war if there were still a draft. Reflect on the fact that the flower of this Nation are fighting endlessly for milestones, goals, and objectives measurable perhaps in vague political and philosophical or legal terms. They fight but they do not fight to dominate and control square kilometers or the high ground. Neither political rhetoric nor diplomats' agreements translate easily into missions at the dirty-boot level in a sandy, filthy, scorpion, snake and spider infested hell-hole. Still, a dispirited and tired People may be unwittingly signaling that it is time for a radical change of directions. In any case, American blood in the sand of Afghanistan cries out for justice.

Support Canada Free Press


Are we really trying to ensure "peace and tranquility" in a forgotten medieval country by fighting a 21st Century Crimean War? Really? Or much, much worse ... are we just muddling along with stale and unworthy statements of National Interest? Can you, Dear Reader, even begin to wrap your arms around this? World War I was "the War to end all Wars" but just 20 years later the unfinished business of Collectivism in Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japanese Expansionism gave us World War II. World War II was a visceral fight to the death against totalitarianism, but did we drive a stake through the heart of the vampire? Korea and Vietnam were highly visible and gut wrenching "Police Actions" [Harry Truman's term for Non-war Wars]. Washington, Grant, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton would all shudder at the thought of fighting wars of survival that did not lead to Total Victory and Unconditional Surrender. The absence of victory over an aggressor was a by-product of ill-conceived Yalta concessions and Cold War diplomatic failures. The post-war Doctrines of M.A.D., Deterrence, and Escalation Dominance ironically resulted in the Arms Race to end all Arms Races. Gulf War I proclaimed a Powell Doctrine clearly but whose results settled for far less than the total victory and the riddance of Saddam Hussein reputedly sought by General Schwarzkopf. This failure to finish or to "defeat the enemy in detail" in turn led to Gulf War II, with its swift demonstration of American Military prowess. Unfortunately post-hostility Administrations ignored the Eisenhower and MacArthur models following World War II. Inevitably Iraqi Societal disintegration, renewed tribalism infused with Islamic Jihad fueled by Iran, and worldwide Terrorist groups have materialized who use the venues as springboards to bring down the Little Satan [Israel] and the Big Satan [USA] no matter what the cost to Muslims, Iraq, Afghanistan, or the rest of the world. Has the world been made safer by dribbling away the lives of unsung American Heroes in foreign wastelands for dubious diplomatic or political objectives? Where and what does America gain from her Progressive "Hope and Change" dreams in these endless Socialist-style wars of attrition that never end? Was it not President Obama, after all, that called Afghanistan the "good war," in so many words? Those who serve this great Nation deserve more than the same tired mentions and platitudes about "mission and duty" from a President who never came closer to serving in the military than registering for Selective Service. Tell us specifically why it is the good war, how we will win it, and what it will yield in our vital National Interest. I am skeptical. Mr. Obama has frittered away all gains made in Iraq and has only succeeded in further destabilizing Afghanistan. Oh sure, Mr. Obama brings up valor and sacrifice when it serves his purpose in campaign speeches. And, Mr. Obama's supporters jeer Mr. Romney for failing to do the same ... "Small-ball." I don't want a President who talks about it, or campaigns on it. I want a President that will live Duty, Honor, Country and with every decision he makes, to act in the best interests of the Country and of every Soldier, Marine, Sailor, and Airman he commits to battle! Clearly we have been ill-served. We hear about a timetable for removing troops while they are being attacked [that is called retreat]. We hear an alternative of sticking it out indefinitely hoping for some stability, a Cold War-style accommodation [that is called appeasement and stalemate]. The US, if it is to stay, must develop a range of sanguine Foreign Policy alternatives that include forceful and credible hard military objectives in Afghanistan with markers for victory. This would include hard sanctions on nations who aid and abet the evil doers to include an option of military actions. And, we must make crystal clear statements about American Character that don't include silly apologies for some Marxist vision of our past sins. Finally, can we please stop giving money to those who hate us, and quit playing patty-cake with known enemy-elements within foreign governments? This always turns around and bites us in the butt. What our Armed Forces and America deserve is a Foreign Policy with real purpose and a Defense Department that supports them with good tooth-to-tail ratios wherever they are serving. Now, let me tell you what this war is like for the parent of a soldier [or soldiers] serving in combat or in a combat zone. A parent worries about those sons or daughters serving where: No terrain is safe, No road is safe; No marketplace is safe, No neighborhood is safe, Not even a Green Zone is entirely safe [as we have seen]. Each day you wake up a day closer to their return and think of them countless times a day. Each night, you realize that it is daytime where they are and you double down on positive thinking to help you sleep through the night. Many nights you wake up from a bad dream about your darkest fears and hope that it is not a premonition. This war is a source of constant anguish from those who sit at home and wait, who pray their Rosary, and petition God. The stay-at-home parent who raises their Children, hopes and prays that their spouse [or grown child] will return. They will most happily welcome home their scarred and possibly badly maimed warrior. You have trepidation at each phone call, until you eventually become numb to the sound of them and answer the phone robotically. You hope never to see a uniformed Officer at your door. You have a dread in the back of your mind that your child could possibly return in a flag draped coffin. I know all about this and I know what I am talking about. I have two sons who served "over there." The eldest served two Iraq combat tours and one tour in Kosovo [remember Kosovo? ... Bill Clinton's "Glorious War?"]. The younger served two tours in Iraq. I knew this process over a four-year period. The wait was endless. When I was deployed or doing duties that held inherent dangers, I had no idea just what kind of silent suffering families endure. When I served, I thought naively that my Country was engaged. I found out in my retirement, that outside of the prayers of my Church, and the consoling of the few, that military families and their serving spouses, sons and daughters are essentially on their own outside of their Military Support Community. Retired military parents no longer have those ready supports groups, nor do the civilian parents in rural America or in big cities. Four Years. World War II lasted Four Years! What the Hell are we doing over there in Afghanistan after Eleven Years? Are we teaching them the ways of Prosperity and Democracy and or are the Jihadists and Iranian Death Merchants teaching us the ways of Medievalism and Dhimmitude? I know, I know... who am I to question the our great and heroic Commander in Chief, who slays terrorists from afar, who all but pilots the drones that cut down the wicked on his "terrorist hit list." How curious that this same man wanted to tear down Gitmo and try all captured terrorists in American Courts. [BTW: Whatever became of KSM, or the other 9-11 villains? Bet you don't know! Neither do I.] I know, I know ... who am I to question Eric Holder on the subject of Laws of Warfare. And, who am I to criticize the Foreign Policy of Foggy Bottom Wizards or those of her majesty, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [who is still stuck on "who's the fairest of them all"]. Who am I to wonder how it is that the CJCS is free to politically castigate and issue veiled threats to military retirees who dare to voice political criticism of President Obama's character or his policies. All I am asking is for a President Mitt Romney actually to "sit in the chair" and decide. As President Romney, he can purposely choose a change of directions. America is called to be a militarily strong nation of peace and commerce, not a nation of Socialist revolutionary warlords that rush into or start wars. We are, instead, to be the ones who finish them when we are attacked. I do not buy this globalist arguments that we must engage everywhere. Is "Everywhere" now the definition of our National Interest? How foolish. How "in the box!" Teddy Roosevelt's admonition to "walk softly and carry a big stick" may have worked in 1900. While the Big Stick image appealed to our patriotic nature for a strong defense, it also carried a strong Progressive notion of Global Involvement and Interventionism in overseas affairs. The mere sight a gleaming Great White Fleet cruising one's coastline was certainly a powerful reminder to behave in 1900. But by 1914, Germany and Great Britain and Japan and Russia also had great battle fleets. So it might be argued that the Big Stick produced peace for a time. But, one must suspect that after a time, our great industrial capacity to produce many more Big Sticks may have helped to draw us in "over there" wherever "there" may be. American entrance [intervention] in World War I helped put a lid on the centuries old and deadly European arguments and vendettas for a season of 20 years. But by 1935, that Big Stick was no longer a "Louisville Slugger." It was old, cracked and brittle, and no longer able to settle every dispute. Old Sticks, like old Diplomacy and old Defense Capabilities are an invitation to trouble. It is 2012. It is time for a change of Presidents and a time for a new approach in Foreign and Defense Policy.


View Comments

William R. Mann -- Bio and Archives

William R. Mann, is a retired Lt. Colonel, US Army. He is a now a political observer, analyst, activist and writer for Conservative causes. He was educated at West Point [Bachelor of Science, 1971 ]and the Naval Postgraduate School [Masters, National Security Affairs, 1982].


Sponsored