14 August 2010

Does America Know How to Fight?

I wanted to write a follow up to my post regarding potential Israel, Iranian conflict (post here).  This week, Iran has begun digging "mass graves for attacking American soldiers" just in case we attack them (source).   

I do find it necessary to give some frame of reference for my opinion on Iraq, Afghanistan, and now potential Iranian wars.  Let us not mince words as "conflicts" in my mind are merely politicians' double-speak for military action.  Seven years ago, I wasn't as smart as today (geo-politically / historically), and I bought into the half-truth that I now understand the whole Bush Administration's intelligence estimates to be.  That being the case, my present day opinion is that containment, isolation, and prevention to the best of our abilities of these countries is the best way to go about creating a peaceable and workable solution. Washington would have to use an exorbitant amount of restraint against meddling, which means that it is destine for failure before it would even start.  Something that the US leadership forgets is that it's primary focus should be on the citizens of our country and what is best for them.

If the US political leadership is not willing to expend the resources (men, machines, and money) to completely crush the hearts and minds of those who espouse radical Islam, then you have no business trying to change them.  While we are seeing some progress with the DoD's COIN (Counter Insurgency) Doctrine, it is hard to reason with people who still prefer to live in the stone-age and are manipulated by radicals who are almost a clone of their Washington counterparts.  Politicians are politicians, whether they speak from a realm of "law" or "religion."  It is plainly evident that both Washington politicians and radical Imams know exactly how to create classes of people that oppose one another, which in turn, creates a climate for exploitation.  That exploitation is only a means to an end of amassed power.

Do not get me wrong, Islamisists are an enemy of our country, but killing non-military, radical terrorists that fight for an idea is nearly impossible to stop unless you assure them of their complete and utter destruction.  Without clear war, there is no clear victory.  Our current doctrine of break, rebuild, and change their hearts and minds is not successful.  Jihadists seek to instill their Sharia Law (source) upon those whom don't want anything to do with it.  Sound familiar?  We expect them to follow a doctrine that we don't follow ourselves.

Does this mean abandoning the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Not completely.  It does mean that where we have screwed up, we must make right on a human level, fix things, as best we can to then trust that human nature and good will take hold.  Once that is reasonably accomplished, our focus should be to shift towards home, and take care of ourselves and stop meddling with everyone else's business.  That includes what Israel would like us to do by using us in a proxy war.

If Israel wants regime change in Iran, let them go at it alone.  It will be ugly and it will be long.  I have no doubts that the Israelis will succeed, and perhaps with less humanitarian efforts than the USA, but what they will achieve, is a destruction of their enemies' souls.  That's what war used to be about.  When there was an evil in the world, and it chose to make itself present, you confronted it and obliterated it.  I don't think the USA knows how to do that any more, at least not from a political level.

AK Fan and I were discussing the mass graves.  The comedian that he is suggested we should lob a few cruise missiles at those graves, and blow 'em up.  Show Iran who is boss.  Kick ass and take names later.  It's a great strategy, but unfortunately, the world of the precision army, polarizing civilian leadership, and the lack of testicular fortitude to do dirty deeds, dirt cheap, it'll never happen.  Israel on the other hand should seriously consider AK Fan's suggestion, and commence bombing in 30 seconds.  Maybe then we would see some real stability in the middle east, and the blind sheeple of the desert sands can come into the 21st century. 

Of course, he wanted to do it merely to hear the snickers from the UN security council members, and I can't say that I blame him for that.  Talk about one geo-political joke!