The Will To Fight
Wars have, historically, not always been won by the side that kills more of the opposing enemy. When you fight, you don't fight merely to kill as many of the enemy as possible, because there will always be someone else ready to step in to his shoes and pick up his fallen weapon. No, to win a war, you don't have to kill the most, you have to take away your enemy's will to fight.
When we started this campaign in Iraq, we had the right idea.. shock and awe. We came in to overwhelm the country with out military superiority, making them believe that there was no way they could stand up to us, thus taking away their will to fight.
But ever since the first American boot hit the ground in Iraq, Democrats and the media have been doing everything they can to erode the will to fight. But they've directed every bit of their effort towards the American public, rather than against our enemies.
Side note: There have been plenty of other problems with this war as well, such as the way troops were hamstrung by the Rules of Engagement, but that' not the main focus of this rant.
With every American death in Iraq, they drive home the notion that we cannot win this fight, and we should give up now and bring home our troops before they all die.
The troops, as can be witnessed on any number of milblogs, have the will to fight. They know the job which must be done, and are ready to perform that job, even if it means sacrificing their own lives in the process. The leaders of this country, however, wouldn't know self-sacrifice if it kicked them squarely in the ass.
Let's compare this to, say, the NCAA tournament from just a month ago. Two teams are on the court, battling it out for the title of NCAA champion. When one side begins to pull ahead, what happens? The opposing team fights back that much stronger, trying to overcome the obvious deficit. When you look at the bleachers on the winning team's side, you see thousands of students, parents, fans, faculty, etc., all wearing their team colors, holding banners, chanting, yelling and doing everything they can to support their team. This helps to give them the motivation they need to hang on, pull farther ahead and ultimately defeat the opposing team.
If this war were a basketball game, it would be the 4th quarter of the final game and America would be ahead. However, the insurgents would be fighting back, trying desperately to pull ahead before time runs out. What they aren't sure of, is exactly how much time is left, or exactly how far behind they are.
Meanwhile, there is a large delegation from the American team on the sidelines, arguing with the officials that the game should be shortened. They point out that, while America is ahead, the other team is fighting back so fiercely that surely there is no way we'll be able to hold on to this lead, so we might as well forfeit, pack up and go home now. No use in the team being exhausted for no reason.
When this tactic doesn't work, they then turn to the stands, and start cheering. But instead of attempting to rally their crowd behind the team, they start chanting, "We can't win! We can't win!"
Now that you've pictured that scenario, how well do you think the team is going to play? They will continue to play, of course, but their attention will be on the sidelines, wondering what they've done that could make their school and fans abandon them like this. In their very moment of triumph, they are being told that their entire season was for nothing. The months and years of preparation, and all the games they won along the way were for nothing. Now that they are in the final game, ready to take on anything the opposing team can throw at them, it is not the enemy that defeats them, but the very people who should be supporting them.
If supporting your team is so natural and so easy to understand in a basketball game, just what the hell is so hard for Harry Reid to understand about his constant cheering for our defeat in Iraq?
When we started this campaign in Iraq, we had the right idea.. shock and awe. We came in to overwhelm the country with out military superiority, making them believe that there was no way they could stand up to us, thus taking away their will to fight.
But ever since the first American boot hit the ground in Iraq, Democrats and the media have been doing everything they can to erode the will to fight. But they've directed every bit of their effort towards the American public, rather than against our enemies.
Side note: There have been plenty of other problems with this war as well, such as the way troops were hamstrung by the Rules of Engagement, but that' not the main focus of this rant.
With every American death in Iraq, they drive home the notion that we cannot win this fight, and we should give up now and bring home our troops before they all die.
The troops, as can be witnessed on any number of milblogs, have the will to fight. They know the job which must be done, and are ready to perform that job, even if it means sacrificing their own lives in the process. The leaders of this country, however, wouldn't know self-sacrifice if it kicked them squarely in the ass.
“I believe... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week.”How, exactly, does it help the American people for their leaders to announce that, despite the advances that are being made by the surge, this course of action is doomed and we are lost? Harry Reid is directly aiding and abetting the enemy here. First by refusing to give up on a timetable for retreat, and secondly by demoralizing the American public and our soldiers.
—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Let's compare this to, say, the NCAA tournament from just a month ago. Two teams are on the court, battling it out for the title of NCAA champion. When one side begins to pull ahead, what happens? The opposing team fights back that much stronger, trying to overcome the obvious deficit. When you look at the bleachers on the winning team's side, you see thousands of students, parents, fans, faculty, etc., all wearing their team colors, holding banners, chanting, yelling and doing everything they can to support their team. This helps to give them the motivation they need to hang on, pull farther ahead and ultimately defeat the opposing team.
If this war were a basketball game, it would be the 4th quarter of the final game and America would be ahead. However, the insurgents would be fighting back, trying desperately to pull ahead before time runs out. What they aren't sure of, is exactly how much time is left, or exactly how far behind they are.
Meanwhile, there is a large delegation from the American team on the sidelines, arguing with the officials that the game should be shortened. They point out that, while America is ahead, the other team is fighting back so fiercely that surely there is no way we'll be able to hold on to this lead, so we might as well forfeit, pack up and go home now. No use in the team being exhausted for no reason.
When this tactic doesn't work, they then turn to the stands, and start cheering. But instead of attempting to rally their crowd behind the team, they start chanting, "We can't win! We can't win!"
Now that you've pictured that scenario, how well do you think the team is going to play? They will continue to play, of course, but their attention will be on the sidelines, wondering what they've done that could make their school and fans abandon them like this. In their very moment of triumph, they are being told that their entire season was for nothing. The months and years of preparation, and all the games they won along the way were for nothing. Now that they are in the final game, ready to take on anything the opposing team can throw at them, it is not the enemy that defeats them, but the very people who should be supporting them.
If supporting your team is so natural and so easy to understand in a basketball game, just what the hell is so hard for Harry Reid to understand about his constant cheering for our defeat in Iraq?
I think the media does play a role in how the war is viewed domestically, but internationally, it is a different view altogether. For the international media, the war is one that was started without due diligence and for all intent and purpose, begun from a base of lies and conjecture.
But domestically, i think the problem isn't so much media as much as it is exactly the one thing you kind of brushed aside for the time being... the rules of engagement (and clearly those rules are based on American morals and ideals).
Truth be told, the war could have been won without ever losing an american life to enemy fire... of course, the US government and the American people don't have the stomach for such a war... If the US military simply hammered Iraq for a year with carpet bombings rather than a ground war, I can guarantee you that the militias would have lost their will to fight relatively fast... I am talking all out levelling of every structure in every city in Iraq... The will would have been lost probably around the time when the entire population would had to find caves for shelter. Of course, lots of people would have considered such a tactic low and complained that it wasn't fair... but we would be in a different place today. As some bright wit somewhere said, "Kill them all, let god sort them out!"
That's how you win a war now and prevent a war in the future...
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Anonymous |
6:44 PM