Analyst's note: My friend Colonel Kenneth Allard (U.S. Army, Ret.) recently published this article providing much needed insight for our time regarding what is happening to America's all-volunteer military forces.
"[....] This is the very same Army that has been deployed to hell and back ever since Sept. 11, 2001. Unlike previous conflicts, the war against terrorism has affected only our troops and their families. The nation as a whole remained at peace, summoned to return en masse to the shopping malls and college campuses rather than offer their blood, toil, tears and sweat."
"[....] Because there was no practical way to enlarge the all-volunteer force, those repeated deployments added up, too. According to a recent RAND Corp. study, today the average American serviceman is on his third or fourth combat tour.
Not only is the law of averages still in effect, there is also new evidence about the long-lasting effects of combat. Little-noticed when published in 2010, "Combat Trauma: A Personal Look at Long-Term Consequences" argued that PTSD is like radiation: The greater your exposure to combat trauma, the more likely you are to experience PTSD."
We also note that our U.S. government, who still refuses to understand our Islamist enemy, and now thinks that any Muslim who wants to wage jihad as directed by the Qur’an and Sunnah must be insane. If they follow through on just this assumption alone, Obama is going to have to build a lot of new asylums.
Considering the Islamists gather to fight Muhammad's promised Armageddon and A Reuters report which recently noted the fight in Syria resonates with both Sunni and Shiite fighters ... and wars and rumors of war will continue. “Mujahideen” are in Syria from America, Russia, the Philippines, China, Belgium Germany, Sudan, India and Yemen and they believe they are fighting in a final battle leading up to the return of the 12th Imam. At least some of our Islamist enemy believes the reappearance of the 12th Imam will usher in a war involving Israel and the United States. They ultimately believe it will be a decisive war which will decide "the fate of humanity."
This war of which our enemy speaks has many facets directly impacting the United States. Just for starters, as far back as June 2008 we reported in the Middle East Imperative that Saudi oil was one of the ultimate jihadist targets. We already know that Al-Qaida is now targeting Saudi royals with jihad against Sunni Islam homeland.
American citizens should have "credible fear". Our national survival depends on Americans understanding what I am about address ... and the clock is now moving faster as Flaws are exposed in nuclear agreement with Iran.
As you consider this analysis, don't overlook Bombshell Obama Vetting: 1979 Newspaper Article By Valerie Jarrett's Father-In-Law Reveals Start Of Muslim Purchase Of U.S. Presidency... There are a number of dots not generally connected here in American. As you consider this analysis, know that keeping our borders open while we understant that this is going on gives a whole new approach to treason. See Feds buying hotel rooms for surge of illegal immigrants.
The other critical point to keep in mind is that this Islamist enemy is driven by a religious ideology and does NOT reason like we do. We can NOT safely apply our logic to what THEY will do.
Muslims will murder their own people to accomplish their jihad. For many in Iran it is believed that The reappearance of the 12th Imam will usher in a war between Israel and the Shia", a decisive war which will decide "the fate of humanity.
From Iran we repeatedly hear,"We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world. We must prepare ourselves to rule the world" along with "I will bring the death that the Shi'ite are experiencing in Iraq to the streets of America with the martyr brigades that are ready to act."
If you still wonder what earth I am talking about, then seeWho Is the 12th Imam?
If you think Obamacare is bad, wait until the world sees the full impact of this Obama (dumb) / Kerry (dumber) diplomatic failure that leads to Iran with an atomic bomb. Should America fall, there is no where to run. The path is then open for the return of the 12th Imam and the world-wide caliphate ... and Iran is seeking the capacity to destroy western civilization. An EMP attack using an atomic bomb would work nicely for that. Otherwise known asNuclear Terrorism: From Tehran with Love .
Don't forget the recent story about Obama quietly lifting financial pressure on Iran & gets his own head in return. Also see Obama capitulates to Nuclear Iran: Return of the Twelfth Imam now closer
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The nation's attention-deficit disorder is best measured by the media's swiftness in pivoting from shocked headlines back to the usual news feed.
On Wednesday, it was more than March Madness unleashed at Fort Hood, Texas, an unwelcome reminder that there is an unhealed wound in today's military. We swiftly learned that the troubled Iraq war veteran was a former Puerto Rican National Guardsman being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
President Obama paused to offer customary condolences: "We're heartbroken something like this might have happened again." Then he returned to his fundraising activities.
The entire military family greatly appreciates the sympathies of the president as our commander in chief. However, his words of condolence might have considerably more weight had his secretary of defense not recently announced that the Army is again being slashed - now to levels not seen since World War II.
This is the very same Army that has been deployed to hell and back ever since Sept. 11, 2001. Unlike previous conflicts, the war against terrorism has affected only our troops and their families. The nation as a whole remained at peace, summoned to return en masse to the shopping malls and college campuses rather than offer their blood, toil, tears and sweat.
All the real sacrifice has been outsourced to our all-volunteer force, highly professional and spectacularly successful in high-tech combat. (What about in handling insurgencies and guerrilla conflicts? Well, not so much.)
What happens when the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine goes to war while his nation does not? You can begin with uneven sacrifice. The current numbers suggest that only one-half of 1 percent of us serve in uniform, while more than 99 percent of the American population does not.
As a result, the war against terrorism has always been accompanied by a shortage of manpower, because the all-volunteer force was becoming an increasingly rare and expensive organization. Sending our troops to the combat zones is now estimated to cost the American taxpayer $1 million per serviceman per year. Even for a nation seduced into accepting trillion-dollar deficits, this still amounts to real money.
As the thrill of shock and awe in Afghanistan and Iraq morphed into gritty insurgencies in both countries, ever-expanding operational requirements meant deploying and redeploying the all-volunteer force. When troop surges were required, the service member and his family were thus forced to "embrace the suck" - putting life and limb at risk again and again.
Because there was no practical way to enlarge the all-volunteer force, those repeated deployments added up, too. According to a recent RAND Corp. study, today the average American serviceman is on his third or fourth combat tour.
Not only is the law of averages still in effect, there is also new evidence about the long-lasting effects of combat. Little-noticed when published in 2010, "Combat Trauma: A Personal Look at Long-Term Consequences" argued that PTSD is like radiation: The greater your exposure to combat trauma, the more likely you are to experience PTSD.
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