On war and Mercenaries

I have been trying to figure out how this country went from being about to win wars in 6 years or less to now taking more than 8 to get the job done.

One reason may be our modern idea of “hedging our bets”. In Korea, WWI, WWII, and earlier wars, the prevailing wisdom seemed to be to hit them with EVERYTHING in the military arsenal. Hit them hard, hit them repeatedly until one side said uncle (basically never us). As history shows, this was extremely effective and got the results we wanted. But now we seem (from Vietnam on) to have a strategy that involved hitting them fast, hope they give up in a dazed state after being “shocked and awed”, but if they don’t give up just wing it while twiddling our thumbs. It’s as if our political and military leaders would rather hope that they can beat our opponent by using a flash-bang grenade, rather than just storm in and kick the shit out of them.

What would the conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq be like now if we had gone in fully mobilized? Or even consider what Afghanistan would be like if we used an invasion force comparable to that of the Iraq invasion. I mean is it at all surprising that Afghanistan has fallen so deep into the shitter when we used an invasion force SMALLER than the one used in Iraq?

The other reason I think is our opponents themselves. In all the wars we have won, both us and our opponents were fighting for something tangible. Our opponents/enemies today, however, are far more obsessed and dangerous. They believe in their religion so blindly that they have no problems fighting to the VERY last man. You could say that the Japanese during WWII were the same but I would argue that they are not even close. In the end the Japanese had enough reason to see the writing on the wall and that surrender was the only way to preserve their country and culture. Whereas the people we fight now have NO reason in their minds. To them the only acceptable outcome is to kill the infidel, or die trying even if it takes every last man, woman, and child to do it. How do you defeat an enemy who refuses to be defeated?

In the end I fear that we will have the same result in Afghanistan as the former Soviet Union. Billions of dollars, thousands of lives, all used in an attempt to “free” and bring reason and democracy to a country who may not even want it. If we do manage to win, I hope this country is willing to accept the fact that if fundamentalists rise to power through DEMOCRATIC vote then we have to ACCEPT that vote.


On a different note:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AFGHANISTAN_EMBASSY_INVESTIGATION?SITE=UTSAC&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ_BLACKWATER?SITE=UTSAC&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Both of these stories disappoint me, but each in a slightly different way.

The first story about mercenaries (“security contractors”) at the US Embassy in Afghanistan is just ridiculous. I’m sorry but do these dumb asses not understand that since they protect US government property, that they are REPRESENTING the US in the host country! Not to mention the security RISK such actions create! What if the embassy was attack while this idiots were partying like frat boys? Would ANY of them be able to think clearly, much less aim, under heavy fire while shit-faced? I don’t think so…

This just furthers my opinion that mercenaries have absolutely NO BUSINESS being in a war zone, much less employed by the US government. Which brings me to the second story. This contract renewal of “Presidential Airlines”, a subsidiary of Blackwater, is a mistake. This only ENCOURAGES companies like Blackwater. Why should they change how they act if the government continues to pay them? Its insane! Mercenaries are an insult to every single man and woman in the US military. By continuing to hire them, the US government is basically tell them that “you can’t do your job effectively but rather than train more troops we are going to hire civilians instead.” These mercenaries answer to no one, and have PROVEN they are far more of a liability than they are an asset. Not to mention they are FAR more expensive (they make 6 figure salaries which is far more than the average soldier) than our military personnel. These mercenaries are not much more different than the Somali Pirates!

There are only three groups I would trust with my protection in war zones. 1) The US military, 2) the FBI, and 3) the US Secret Service!