| War is all hell ... for a reason
It can be observed that our military is evolving in strange ways - not necessarily the best in all cases. Sure, we’ve gotten wonderfully "diverse", for whatever military advantage that provides, but we’ve also become so invested in technology we’ve begun to believe war and horror are not necessarily synonymous.
Since first commented upon in print by then Chief of the Soviet General Staff Nicolai Ogarkov in 1982 there has been considerable activity in military circles on the "Revolution of Military Affairs" or "RMA". As part of his address from the flight deck of the USS Lincoln our President, clearly advised by adherents of RMA theories, noted;"For 100 years of war, culminating in the nuclear age, military technology was designed and deployed to inflict casualties on an ever-growing scale. In defeating Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, allied forces destroyed entire cities, while enemy leaders who started the conflict were safe until the final days. Military power was used to end a regime by breaking a nation. Today, we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime. With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. No device of man can remove the tragedy from war. Yet it is a great advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent." On reflection it might be observed that our obsession to avoid "needless" casualties has provided us with some measure of success in Iraq void of a meaningful victory. The Iraqi soldiers who shrugged off their uniforms and faded into the general population didn’t suffer sufficient to bow to our will - and shy of that what was the point?
As a counterpoint, consider the following from a note to the Mayor of Atlanta from a war winning General;"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." As the new century dawns we’ve already demonstrated technologically advanced half measures won’t meet our needs. A six foot six Arab on dialysis and a mustached Dahlmer wanna-be have both, so far, evaded all such efforts. In the meanwhile our troops are taking rounds while accompanied by "embedded" reporters and command staff’s are augmented with "battle jags". While I agree that it is desirable to establish military dominance in space we must also eliminate all but the warriors from the ranks of our uniformed military and accept that their trade is a bloody one. Today’s Moors are no less fanatical than Hitler’s SS or the emperor’s Kamikazes and must at every opportunity be treated with similar harshness. The fact that our troops are volunteers and socially distant from America's 'nomenklatura' - of both 'left' and 'right' persuasion , and the fiction that technology has made war relatively humane must not be allowed to either lower the threshold for real combat or limit the speed and brutality necessary to fully execute the mission. It is the only way wars are won - and their results conclusive.
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