Analyst's note: Absolutely must read and carefully consider. Got time for only one article, then this is it. Some reports simply need to get out in full for complete consideration. This is one such report.
To frame the words of Gen. Vallely, I share with you hard won insight by yet another great warrior - Gen. Lewis Walt. For 34 years "the world of Gen. Walt was a world of war and arms, of command, and obedience, of unquestioned loyalty and support of the U.S. Constitution." These words are found on page xii and xiii of his book entitled "The Eleventh Hour."
"[....] The successes bought at such dear prices in lives on the battlefield are made necessary by the failures in the political arena at home. I have learned that wrong thinking, carelessness, greed and apathy kill and maim, too. As American citizens, we must always work to combat these weaknesses in our policy lest they once more "unleash the dogs of war."
Our loyalty to the Constitution must remain firm, but we must battle in the political arena with the same unity, the same ferocity, and the same determination which has carried us to victory on the battlefield. I am asking you, not to destroy but to build, not to kill but to preserve life, not to enslave but to maintain freedom. I am asking that your actions be motivated, not by hatred, but by love for all the good things in this world which must be saved from harm.
I cannot lead you in this battle. The accumulated years are too many, [...] There are younger men, perhaps you, who have the energy and the knowledge to assume command.
But what I can do I will do. I can lay out the danger, identify the enemy, and suggest a plan of action which each of you can follow. The objectives are these: 1. to purge the Congress of the forces of appeasement and surrender which are pulling us toward war or slavery; and 2. replace them with men and women of integrity and common sense who will restore our military superiority, the only coin with which we can buy the time for diplomacy to work.
The destiny of the American people belongs in our hands, not in the hands of foreign tyrants. Will you join me in the fight to return it to our shores?"
We presently live in a time of crisis when the fate of our nation will be determined within a few short years -- maybe months. What will determine that fate will be fundamental decisions by individual Americans like you. If we decide to view ourselves only in terms of our own individuality, as people whose welfare and fate are somehow separate and distinct from the welfare and fate of this great nation, then there is no hope of survival of these United States.
Our nations preservation is no easy task. As is always the case, shirkers and cowards and others grown too soft to endure this conflict will hide. The influential will not give in without a fight. The faint-hearted will wring their hands. If you choose to participate, you will suffer abuse and sharp debate. You must be prepared to hear a thousand "experts" call you wrong and a fool.
But to preserve America. "We the People," must take control of our political arena and peacefully but firmly take back the power from the hands of those who now have it. Only then can we reset these United States back on a course of liberty and strength.
You've made it this far, now please read the words below by Paul E. Vallely (MG US Army Retired). Semper Fidelis
"Those that have studied military history fully realize that great battlefield leaders have been able to change the “Tide of War” or the “Tide of the Battle” to achieve VICTORY. What this means to the layman is that when the battle is going against you, you must change the strategy and tactics of the battle and reverse the tide against the enemy. I have some questions for our civilian and military leadership today regarding a war that is appearing more and more like an empty act that seems to be losing its character and “raison d’etre”.
First the pretense that this war must continue under the current strategy and that we are achieving results when the facts appear each day to refute that. We see more casualties each day and the leadership stands by a self-destructive and self-defeating strategy of “counter-insurgency” (COIN) doctrine and nation-building. Please define for me since January 2002 what the victories are for America in Afghanistan?
In the Fall of 2001, 100 Special Operations Forces and CIA operative using proxies and a solid and well-executed air support campaign defeated the Taliban and Al Qaeda in thirty-four (34) days. Then our leaders went the conventional war path and then to Counter-insurgency and here we are today some nine years later.
The COIN principle is not based on winning; it is based on political whims and is not a true tenet of warfare. Warfare is, and always should be, about WINNING or do not go to War. Winning this specific war against forces impelled by Islamic ideology, the global caliphate, and Sharia calls for unconventional measures and not the conventional actions followed by lengthy occupations such as we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such an unconventional war doctrine heavily leverages the core capability to break enemy states, target and destroy the enemy’s capability to bring harm to America. We are now in the longest war America has ever fought in.
Why do US military/political leaders and strategists still languish in a thought process that thinks you can Nation-Build before you defeat the enemy?
Fact: Jihadists with small arms and IEDS in faraway places cannot harm the United States so there is no reason to order massive armies that require large and extensive bases and massive logistical support to fight them on their home turf. But that is the essence of failed “counterinsurgency” (COIN) strategies that have bewitched US military political leaders.
We all want to support our senior military leaders but at some point they have to face the realities of this enemy and protect and secure our American troops. General Petreaus must have the courage and wisdom to change the tide of the war, if he is allowed to! It is time!
Iran supported jihadists; using Iranian improvised explosive devices (IEDS), continue to kill our soldiers, nation-building civilians, CIA operatives, and Afghans at unacceptable rates. We accept this and do nothing about Iran’s involvement. June 2010 was the deadliest month for international troops since the war began:
60 Americans were among 102 international troops slain, according to a count of military figures. This month, more than 70 international troops have died. That total includes more than 50 U.S. service members.
Yes, we have made great and innovative technological advances in weapons systems for the air, sea, and ground, also in communications, in advanced intelligence systems, and command and control systems. Yes, we have operational war planners at all levels of command, senior policy and politicos in the White House and Department of Defense, a National Security Team, and a multitude of military commands positioned around the globe to guide and lead us in national security.
But where are the common sense and rational senior Flag and Command Strategists that we have trained and schooled to be innovative, aggressive, and win our nation’s wars quickly and decisively?
I rarely hear any of them talking about the valued Principles of War that successful combat leaders in the past have used to achieve success and victory. They cannot even talk in terms of victory, winning, and bringing the troops home. Unfortunately, American leaders are increasingly trying to transform this force into one optimized for counterinsurgency missions (when, in fact, we are not, in my opinion, fighting insurgencies but rather, Islamic Jihadists and a fomenting global Caliphate) and conventional war followed on by long-term military occupations. Track back if you will to Korea, Vietnam, and now Iraq, and Afghanistan.
It is true that not all political goals are achievable through the use of military power. However, “victory” in war appears lost in the world of political correctness and appeasement. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan – often seen as proving the necessity for COIN-capable forces as well as a commitment to nation-building – demonstrate in reality that the vast majority of goals can be accomplished through quick, decisive, joint strike military operations from selected “Lily Pad”:http://standupamericaus.com/the-lily-pad-or-the-base-afghanistan-conundrum:25308 friendly bases.
Not all political goals are achievable this way, but most are, and those that cannot be achieved through conventional operations likely cannot be achieved by the application of even the most sophisticated counterinsurgency doctrine either. And, as well, to realize and understand in a profound way that you cannot Nation Build in an area of conflict until the enemy is defeated.
Armies were never meant to ‘nation build’. They were meant to swiftly, decisively, and expediently, employ the last bastion of diplomacy, WAR! According to renowned war strategist Carl Von Clausewitz, “War is a continuation of diplomacy by other means.” ‘Nation building’ is a completely different diplomatic tool, for use by diplomats, not warriors. Warriors provide the platform for where diplomats can ‘nation build’; after victory. When you meld both together, you have neither the platform to ‘nation build’ from, nor a clear diplomatic field in which to dictate terms.
After World War II, it was the clear and decisive victories over Japan and Germany, which allowed restoration of governments and economic development. Total victory provided the means and the platform in which government, diplomats and business people could then re-introduce and practice their art to rebuild nations, restore friendships, deal with further enemies with a stronger hand, and restore peace. Today, death and destruction rules the battlefield as diplomats strive to appease. Diplomacy is therefore reduced to a fait accompli, the inability to achieve any lasting peace and goodwill among nations, cultures, and peoples.
I am hard pressed to list any diplomatic and military victories for America in Iraq or Afghanistan since the Fall of 2001. I predict that Iraq will be in worse shape a year from now and that Iran, Syria, and the Iraqi Shiites will exert sufficient influence to control the future of Iraq. Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabis guided by the Muslim Brotherhood will be behind the scenes orchestrating the Caliphate.
Why can we not understand that our military is for national security, defending our country, our southern borders, and domestic jihad before they bring more harm to our citizens? Why can we not understand how important our resources are in terms of our trained Armed Forces and assets of our country and not to drain them across the globe in futile ‘nation building’ operations but to leverage the military to counter threats to our country?
To the Generals and Admirals, reposition our forces for victory and the pride of America.
A fundamental challenge in devising a strategy for the use of future American military power is that the world has literally never seen anything like our capability. The U.S. today has military capabilities at least equal to the rest of the world combined. There is virtually no spot on the globe that could not be targeted by American forces, and at most, a small handful of countries that could at worst, delay a determined U.S. effort.
As a consequence, the U.S. must adopt a national military strategy that heavily leverages the core capability to break enemy states, then target and destroy the enemy’s capability to bring harm to America. Such a strategy could defeat and disrupt most potential threats the U.S. faces.
While America’s adversaries today may prefer to engage the U.S. using proxies and develop radical Islamist organizations and jihadists, there is no rationale in declaring to the people of the United States that we are in a long war and accept that as a reason to not achieve a quick and decisive victory.
Let them wail and whimper as we achieve the success that is necessary; wiping out and neutralizing radical Islamism and the nation states that support it. Because our capability is so novel, American strategists lack a clear framework to guide the utilization of this force. They have sought to match capabilities to conceptions of the use of force from a different era, one in which the Cold War made regime change unpalatable due to the risk of escalation and that tended to make localized setbacks appear as loses in a perceived zero-sum competition with the Soviets.
Like Reagan, it is time to call their bluff. They know we hold the big cards, so why are we so timid? This only fosters eastern thought that placation is a sign of weakness. A weakness they will turn into an asset and a political card to play to the uneducated masses they control. Based on superb intelligence, we can launch required strike operations from any number of secure global sites and bases. True, these radical Islamic forces pose a major terror threat abroad and at home but we can defeat those efforts as well.
Because of the political naiveté, the complete misunderstanding of Islam and its teachings of control, and the liberal idea that westerners can talk to easterners in terms based on western thoughts and values, our current leadership is effectively neutering our military. It clearly does not understand Islamism, and its global intentions, so it constantly employs methods that are nothing but signs of weakness to these people. This just emboldens nations and groups such as Iran, Syria, al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and a myriad of other groups wishing to fulfill Islamic global Sharia goals.
The Middle East will never see peace as we continually try the same things over and over, failing each time, and thinking there will be a different outcome each time. Clearly, the lessons of takiya (lying to infidels) have not been learned, and that clearly hampers the policy makers in charge of national security.
Remember, if you are not Muslim, you live in the land of Dar el Harb, the land of war. Nation building in Afghanistan and elsewhere will never work, when you are trying to sway the hearts and minds of peoples who have long ago determined you are their enemy forever, and nothing you say is to be believed. (Principles of Takiya)
Many describe our efforts as helping to recruit more fighters and more ideologues. This is no way to stop all the threats to our homeland. The only true way to stop the threat is to give them what they respect; pure force of arms and will. Otherwise, they sit in their sanctuaries and count up the moral victories they have achieved, and embolden future efforts. However, significant threats to the U.S., ranging from the military capacity of regional powers, to weapons of mass destruction development programs, to significant terrorist infrastructures, can be targeted and destroyed by conventional and unconventional military capabilities.
Again, we must stop thinking like westerners, and understand the way our enemy thinks. A ‘lily pad’ approach is much more preferable because it gives the enemy no moral high ground to propagandize, but at the same time instills sheer terror in their hearts as they must guess at what is coming next. Force of will and resolve is required by our leaders that our enemies indeed respect and understand that. Only when we understand that one objective of Global Jihad is imposition – by force or by stealth – of Shari’a (Islamic law) and the other is the re-establishment of the Caliphate/Imamate can we even begin to formulate the enemy threat doctrine and strategic concept to DEFEAT THE ENEMY and WIN the GWOJ (Global War on Jihad)."
Paul E. Vallely US Army (Ret) is the Chairman of Stand Up America and Co-Chairman of Veteran Defenders of America
