Our political language over the last forty years in this country has in my opinion misappropriated the term "War" to just about anything but fighting another country's army. A great general once said that military war is only an extension of politics.War on Drugs, Poverty, Education, Gangs, Crime. And now Terror. These wars have two things in common: They are equally ineffectual efforts that don't address the heart of these issues and they don't use the military.Have we been tricked? Or, rather, have you? Crumbs.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gentile @ Apr 21 2007, 09:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Our political language over the last forty years in this country has in my opinion misappropriated the term "War" to just about anything but fighting another country's army. A great general once said that military war is only an extension of politics.War on Drugs, Poverty, Education, Gangs, Crime. And now Terror. These wars have two things in common: They are equally ineffectual efforts that don't address the heart of these issues and they don't use the military.Have we been tricked? Or, rather, have you? Crumbs.</div>I don't know what you are talking about, but I gurantee that the war on terror actually does use the military, and uses it quite alot. The U.S. military has been almost completely used up in Afghanistan and Iraq, and stretched very thin between the two. When we went into Iraq and Afghanistan we fought that countries military's first. In Afghanistan it was the Taliban's army, and Al-Queada's army. It's after we took out the other countries military and then tried occupying the country that we have started fighting who ever wanted to grab an AK or rocket and start shooting at us.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gentile @ Apr 21 2007, 10:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Our political language over the last forty years in this country has in my opinion misappropriated the term "War" to just about anything but fighting another country's army. A great general once said that military war is only an extension of politics.War on Drugs, Poverty, Education, Gangs, Crime. And now Terror. These wars have two things in common: They are equally ineffectual efforts that don't address the heart of these issues and they don't use the military.Have we been tricked? Or, rather, have you? Crumbs.</div>You have a point, that war is used a little too often. however the War on terror should not be included with those other things. the war on terror is an actual war, Militaries are facing off in Afghanistan and other places. while the Taliban doesn't have much remaining of it's army, it still has guerrilla fighters who fight against our military.
I agree with you Gentile that these 'wars' don't help the real problem. You can throw all the money in the world into schools and it doesn't make much of a difference. Terrorists will always recruit more terrorists (they recruit the poor. It's the same thing with American gangs). Good education isn't about more money, it's about good teachers and good parenting. Killing terrorists doesn't stop terrorism, unless more things are done to help- poor middleeastern countries poor muslims will be led into terrorist organizations.....But people will always cover up the problem because going at the heart of the problem is often much more difficult.
Focus on other things such as Darfur, Hurrincane Katrina victims, Va Tech victims. Terrorist attacks are likely never to happen again with all the security now a days. Bring our boys home!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KobeBryant_24 @ Apr 21 2007, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Focus on other things such as Darfur, Hurrincane Katrina victims, Va Tech victims. Terrorist attacks are likely never to happen again with all the security now a days. Bring our boys home!</div>There will ALWAYS be terrorist attacks.
I spent the weekend reading Bob Woodward's <u>State of Denial</u>, an incisive study of what went on behind the scenes at the White House the last 5 years. President Bush doesn't look so bad, just unbelievably optimistic and absolute in his beliefs. With that attitude you gotta ask questions or you risk believing fantasy.Anyway, according to Woodward's sources, the biggest mistake in Iraq was massive de-Baathification soon after the invasion, the firing of <u>everybody</u> that had a place in Saddam's Baath Party, when basically, you had to be in the Party to get a good job. Apparently, that turned up to 300,000 Sunni's against the U.S. effort immediately, when they were being led to believe that they would help reconstruct the country and put bread in the mouths of family.I'm not sure if the War on Terror is real or valid. I'm sure that I would prefer competent implementation of policy over rosy sunglasses scenarios whatever you call it. Aspirations are not strategy.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>How do you fight concepts and win?</div>Answer: You don't.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KobeBryant_24 @ Apr 21 2007, 04:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Focus on other things such as Darfur, Hurrincane Katrina victims, Va Tech victims. Terrorist attacks are likely never to happen again with all the security now a days. Bring our boys home!</div>Di-Did-Did you just say a non conservative comment?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Apr 23 2007, 03:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I was thinking of buying Bob Woodward's State of Denial....what do you think of it Gentile?</div>Bob Woodward was given unparalleled access and really gives you a sense of his mastery of the departments like DOD and the Joint Chiefs and the State Department and the CIA and shows how they pretty much just tell Bush what he wants to hear while fighting for his ear among each other. It's comprehensive as it also focuses on what the Provisional Authority was doing in Iraq and how they developed strategies and made mistakes. Apparently they share views with him and among each other that they would never share on camera or with the President. He lists his sources in the back and his cited work seems impeccable.
