He who defends nothing

The Obama administration is considering prosecuting CIA Operatives for potential illegal activities during the Bush administration. The Obama administration is pulling back the missile defense program and re-directing it. The U.S. is also reconsidering selling more advanced missile interception technology to Israel. At the same time, our current government is going to begin reducing our military in multiple ways. Not only the general size, but also weapons procurement. All of this at a time when we are switching our strategic posture to defensive as opposed to an offensive strategy pursued by the Bush administration.

There is an old military saying: "He who defends everything defends nothing."

If you spread your defensive forces around evenly, then you are not strong anywhere. When fighting defensive war, you are attempting to preserve your forces as much as possible. You must develop and maintain something of a reserve in order to take advantage of temporary openings your enemy might let occur. It is not wise to forsake battle entirely because you remove your ability to dictate events at all. As a result, it is a very sound strategy to decide where and under what conditions you will engage enemy forces.

No wonder the Obama administration is having such difficulty developing a new strategy for Afghanistan. It is very difficult to wage war effectively while withdrawing at the same time. While retreat is an important part of preserving your forces, no part of the United States military is being threatened with destruction. Retreat under these conditions is not only unnecessary, it is unwise. On top of this, I do not see any clear strategic places where we WILL engage our enemy’s forces. (Except within our own cities.) I really doubt that the Obama administration would back up (With military force) any of our allies that are attacked, particularly Israel. You find out whom your REAL friends are when the bullets are flying. It looks more to me as if the United States is attempting to defend nothing.