The War is NOT over

Madison Wisconsin is known to be a liberal town. So I asked a brother who lives in the area what people are talking about in town. The economy is just about everything in conversation. I asked about the war and the reply was that it was not even coming up. I am guessing that the view is that the war will be pretty much over after we leave Iraq.

This view would understand that by taking the U.S. military out of the direct fighting, the war would wind down to a much, much lower level. Play good defense, like during the Cold War. ‘Soft’ power would dominate and eventually help bring about reconciliation. Wars are won by bringing down the violence level. When we aren’t killing civilians, many people who are against our ‘occupation’ will become more moderate in their views of our position and us. Forgiveness and healing could begin. It will take a long time. For humanity’s sake, it is the best way. One of many problems that come to mind is that this view does not consider our enemy.

The first rule of warfare is "to know thy enemy". It only takes one side to start a war and only one side to keep a war going. The view that the war will wind down and eventually die off does not take into account who our enemy is and why they hate us. Our enemy hated us long before 9/11. Long before the invasion of Iraq. The issues that our enemy is fighting for and against us is every bit as important as slavery and loyalty to the state over the federal government that were two of the primary reasons for the U.S. Civil War. The point here that the reasons for warfare today are every bit as valid as both North and South in 1861. This is NOT going to go away. Our enemy will not allow it to.

Guns are selling

In the Chicago Tribune earlier this week, an article appeared that described how since the election of Senator Obama as our next president, gun sales in the area have skyrocketed. I would guess that one primary reason is that many expect our new president and the Democrat majority in both houses to make the purchase and/or ownership of guns more difficult, if not illegal. I personally am interested in the purchase of some firearms, but for a different reason.

President-elect Obama has made it clear that he plans to place the U.S. on the strategic defensive. No more invasions combined with withdrawal from Iraq. He plans to eliminate weapons procurement, missile defense plus research and development. I imagine that a large part of this program is to reduce the military’s budget so that our armed forces have to cut back in numerous places. As a result of these moves, I consider my family to now be in the front line.

If you drew up a list of 5 cities in the U.S. that are a potential target for a terrorist attack, Chicago will be on that list. I also expect terrorist activity and effectiveness to increase steadily as our new President enacts his changes. It is only a matter of time before one of these groups obtains and deploys an effective weapon of mass destruction. As the looting and violence that occurred in New Orleans demonstrated, any type of firearm can possibly be a lifesaver for my family in the event of a disaster.

Brutality

The violence throughout the Muslim world is about a number of issues. These are all part of the same ideological war. The common denominator for me is the repeated suicide attack.
Suicide has always been a part of warfare. However, repeatedly organized suicide attacks have only been seen on one prior occasion throughout all of human history. This was Japan in the 1940's.

Although markedly different from today (All wars are unique) many similarities exist that are worrisome. The brutality exhibited in both occurrences is one symptom of the ideological persuasion necessary to supply an organized campaign of repeated suicide attack with volunteers. After all, the suppression of the most basic instinct of all living things would require extensive training of the minds of many. To support an ongoing campaign of repeated suicide requires far more people who believe in the concept than just those who actually carry out the attacks. In Japan, the concept was culturally based. I believe that it is today and this is the main reason as to why the rare occurrence of repeated suicide attack is so relatively common throughout the Muslim world.

Attacks in Pakistan

President-elect Obama will place the U.S. on the strategic defensive. Since September, nearly 20 attacks have been made by U.S. forces inside Pakistan. (Like the one executed Thursday) During the Obama administration, I would expect this number to not only drop significantly, but to cease altogether. This should help stop the killing of civilians, although not as many of our enemies will be meeting Allah. I cannot see how this will speed up the end of the war, except on someone else’s terms.

Afghan civilian losses

"This is my first demand of the new President of the United States—to put an end to civilian casualties."—President Hamid Karzal.

The first demand? It looks to me more like the last demand. Why do I say this?

1) Civilians get in the way during wartime. It is inevitable, no matter how much of an effort you
make. Civilians are hit during wartime.

2) The enemy is targeting civilians. Asking this is like asking us to wage war without losing
anyone.

3) The enemy ARE civilians. The only time that they are not is when they are shooting at our
men.

4) The ONLY way to end civilian losses is to stop shooting.

It is possible that President Karzal wants our soldiers to just ‘take it’ and only shoot back in the most desperate situations possible. You know, act like the UN.

I find it more likely that he wants our soldiers gone altogether. In this, he is in agreement with just about everyone else who lives there. And many who live in Pakistan, Iran and throughout the Middle East. Not to mention the rest of the world.

Iraq

The Iraqi government has recently announced that it is reducing salaries of the members of the awakening movement. Eventually, the Iraqi government wants to end payment entirely. Threats about quitting are rampant. It remains to be seen how many actually quit. This will be a good indicator on how well Iraq can stand on it’s own. I am not very optimistic. Particullarly if Senator Obama becomes the next Commander-in-Chief.

Remove President Obama from office

Senator Obama’s birth records may end up being the way that he is removed from office. I am not afraid of many politicians, but this man really scares me. He wants to go to a completely passive peace standing with our armed forces. Not only this, but he will cripple our ability to anticipate and implement new weapon systems for armed conflict. We are at greater risk of starting World War III by our not making more aggressive warfare. Our enemy is willing to use WMD as soon as it is possible. We are not talking about a 3rd world gassing of civilians. If Israel, Western Europe or the U.S. mainland were hit with nuclear weapons, I would be very seriously looking into those birth records of President Obama.