The Good War
Where did all the good wars go?
Not all war is good. Some are nothing more than a sad and tragic waste of blood and treasure. But to say no war is good is to completely ignore human history. And to say a war, any war, is unwinnable by the greatest fighting forces known to man is to be completely ignorant of the true purpose of war.
Allow me to explain to those unclear on the concept. The purpose of waging war is to win and you win by inflicting more damage than you receive. It is absolutely no more complicated than that. As General George S. Patton so eloquently said “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” Patton understood that the object of waging war is not to simply wage war. The object is victory. A master military tactician General Patton put it most simply when he said “I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.”
Barack Hussein Obama campaigned for 2 years under the banner of redirecting American forces toward the good war in Afghanistan. Time and again he decried the war in Iraq as useless and unwinnable, but said the war in Afghanistan against Taliban fighters was of the utmost importance to America’s safety. He repeatedly stated that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks, but victory in Afghanistan was essential to our national security. But now as Commander and Chief of the greatest fighting force in the world, well, he’s just not sure. If the commander has lost the will to win those who he commands are doomed to defeat.
Obama came into power with this war already underway. He handpicked his own guy in General Stanley McChrystal to reevaluate our strategy and report back with what is needed to win. McChrystal did exactly what he was requested to do and prepared a report clearly showing the need for more troops. Now Obama, in typical neophyte fashion, wants to reevaluate the reevaluation.
Along with being a military historian and master tactician General Patton understood the importance of removing the enemy’s will to fight. Obama’s vacillation does nothing but embolden our enemies. He spent years claiming just about every move the Bush administration made was being used as an enlistment tool for the Taliban and Al Qaida. From holding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to increased night raids on terrorist houses in Iraq to the increased troop surge which eventually brought victory, each was described by this community activist qua terrorism expert as empowering our enemies. But the truth is that nothing, absolutely nothing, emboldens our enemies more than having the Commander and Chief of the greatest fighting force on the planet looking weak and confused.
The United States did not declare this war. It was declared upon us. We either decide to fight it now or it will be brought to us later. The truly sad conclusion is that Obama’s re-re-re-reevaluation is nothing more than partisan politics. War is seldom popular but is sometimes necessary. Aggression will always trump nonaggression. The comparisons of Afghanistan to Vietnam are flying and perhaps with good cause. A complete military victory in Vietnam was not only possible but was being achieved until the weak knees of a pacifist partisan Congress snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by removing both the funding and the will to win. Tens of thousands of South Vietnamese were killed after the American withdrawal and tens of thousands more fled for their lives. The numbers in Afghanistan will dwarf those in Vietnam and this enemy will not be satisfied with remaining within their own borders.
The stakes for America in Afghanistan are great. Our national security depends on our ultimate victory. To retreat without a decisive victory is to simply delay the inevitable. The Taliban and Al Qaida will not go away and emboldened by the defeat of America will become a force the likes of which they can only now dream of. Afghanistan is indeed ruled by tribal warlords who know only peace through strength. If America shows vulnerability or indecision we will be swept away by Taliban fighters and their supporters that abhor weakness.
Victory will not be easy, but it is mandatory.
