New National Security and Military Strategy

sonoranweeklyreview.com ^ | FEBRUARY 28, 2010 | Paul E. Vallely

[Jet Jaguar]

Why do the United States and its military/political leaders and strategists still languish in failed strategies from World War II to the present?

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. Yes, we have made great and innovative technological advances in weapons systems in the air, sea, and ground, 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 General and Admiral 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. Or maybe, they do not want to for politically correct reasons at 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 Jihadis 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 military operations. 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.

We cannot seem to be able to discern between the differences in conventional and non-conventional warfare. The war against mainstream Islamic Jihadist forces and a sick ideology has been, and will continue to be, one requiring unconventional solutions. This is a point that the White House and the Pentagon fear to call this war against a pronounced ideology. It is not a war on terror as we first analyzed; it is a war against people subscribing to Jihad and a derived ideology from the Koran that has evil global intentions as much as the Nazis and Third Reich.

Why can we not understand that our military is for national security, defending our country and defeating our enemies before they bring havoc and 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? 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.

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. Once the war is won, then, like Japan after WWII, real and substantive changes can be enforced. We were able to change Germany and Japan from tyrannical forms of government into thriving democracies with real constitutions and a real change in thinking of the indigenous peoples.

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 thwart a determined U.S. effort at regime change – and some of those only by virtue of their possession of nuclear weapons. This is the driving point; why are we so worried about what others think? Did these so-called allies not have to be bailed out numerous times for their failed thinking? Why do we want to kowtow to the same intellectual vacuity that caused the greatest conflicts on earth?

As a consequence, the U.S. must adopt a national military strategy that heavily leverages the core capability to break enemy states, 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. I will discuss in detail, in later follow-up articles, where the strategy of joint strike operations and the unheralded “Global Lily Pad” strategy prove to be the best method for success.

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. It appears we fight more in agreement with the so called United Nations, allies, and the likes of China and Russia than to stand up for own sovereignty. It is time to relegate these so-called allies to the sidelines.

Let them wail and whimper as we achieve the success that is necessary; wiping out and neutralizing radical Islamism and 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.

Phrasing it another way, insurgents with small arms and homemade explosives (IEDS) in faraway places cannot harm the U.S. and there is no reason to fight them directly. 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. The American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan – where insurgents have been able to build and deploy more than 80,000 IEDs while under occupation – calls into question the ability of occupying forces to root out terror networks without hitting the sources and sanctuaries that supply them like Iran.

Many describe our efforts as helping to recruit more fighters and more ideologues. This is no way to stop all the threat to our homeland. The only true way to stop that 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 is much more preferable because it gives them no moral high ground to propagandize, but at the same time instills sheer terror in their hearts as they guess at what is coming next. Force of will and resolve is required by our leaders that our enemies indeed respect and understand. 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).

MG Paul E. Vallely, US Army Retired, is the Chairman of Stand Up America and co-author of “Endgame “ and “Operation Sucker Punch”

[Erik Latranyi]

I could not agree more.

We worry about how “allies” view us when our success is not dependent on those same allies. Do we really need their troops?

We allow a flawed United Nations to act as a roadblock to our own security. The flaw is allowing nations to join that are not democracies and capitalistic.

Obama and liberals whine about going to war in Iraq even though it was a massive source of support for terrorists.

These same liberals do nothing while Iran, an even bigger supporter of terrorism, develops nuclear weapons.

Fighting terrorist cells is not enough. We must defeat and occupy those nations that support terrorists. That means Iran, Syria and North Korea at the minimum and many more including China at the maximum.

[Condor51]

We cannot seem to be able to discern between the differences in conventional and non-conventional warfare. The war against mainstream Islamic Jihadist forces and a sick ideology has been, and will continue to be, one requiring unconventional solutions. This is a point that the White House and the Pentagon fear to call this war against a pronounced ideology. It is not a war on terror as we first analyzed; it is a war against people subscribing to Jihad and a derived ideology from the Koran that has evil global intentions as much as the Nazis and Third Reich.

Again, we must stop thinking like westerners, and understand the way our enemy thinks.

MG Vallely, very well said and on the spot and you know the following well. You and all the 'others' were taught it at West Point and the War Colleges:

1. "If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."
   But...
   
2. "If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril."

Unfortunately, others now in command seem to have forgotten it all. Which as you know will result in #2. Which means in English .. WE Will Lose!

(1) The above quotes are from Sun Tzu and his book The Art of War. He wrote it 2,500 years ago on 13 bamboo sticks (now book chapters). He has never been wrong, ever.

[shove_it]

Sounds good to me but what’s a lily pad?

[screaminsunshine]

I am sick of these Nation Building projects. We better start building our own nation.

[Erik Latranyi]

I am sick of these Nation Building projects. We better start building our own nation.

We learned after WWI that if you do not rebuild your enemy into an ally, they will return as a stronger enemy.

Terrorism requires us to do this again, in the Middle East.

We either rebuild these nations now or do it later at a far greater cost, but it will have to be done.

[DanMiller]

Here is an address by LTC Allan West (AUS Ret) on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan and why things are such a mess.

[screaminsunshine]

So you think rebuilding China and Afganistan will be a good thing. I see it as eporting capitalism and freedom and importing Communism, Tyranny and Islam. Just the opposit of what we should have done. We are now paying the price for your ideas of Globalization.

[AFreeBird]

B4L8r

[Gritty]

Excellent article.

[Erik Latranyi]

So you think rebuilding China and Afganistan will be a good thing. I see it as eporting capitalism and freedom and importing Communism, Tyranny and Islam. Just the opposit of what we should have done. We are now paying the price for your ideas of Globalization.

Yeah, freeing people has never yielded a benefit for anyone. Spreading capitalism has never been good for us.

Close the borders and isolate the country.....yeah, that will work! Not.

[screaminsunshine]

China is not free. They are ruled by the Communist Party.

[Erik Latranyi]

China is not free. They are ruled by the Communist Party.

Which is why they are on the list of nations we may have to fight....sooner or later.

[Jet Jaguar]

A place of operation that is “safe” that we can move out from.

[shove_it]

Ahhh, thanks.

[Cindy]

Note: This is a very small sampler of what I have looked at recently ON THE INTERNET:

CNS NEWS.com: "MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS ACTIVE NATIONWIDE, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS SAY" by Penny Starr (March 2, 2010) (Read More...)

CNS NEWS.com: "NAPOLITANO SAYS PEOPLE FROM COUNTRIES TIED TO TERRORISM COULD 'POTENTIALLY' ENTER USA, BUT DHS REPORTS SAY THOUSANDS ALREADY HAVE" by Penny Starr (March 1, 2010) (Read More...)

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: "IAEA SAYS IT CAN'T CONFIRM IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS PEACEFUL" by Scott Peterson (March 1, 2010) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars, Iran, March 1, 2010"): "IRAN TO TEST-FIRE OPTIMIZED SMART BOMBS" (Posted March 1, 2010) (Read More...)

INVESTIGATIVE PROJECT.org - IPT News: "CAIR TARGETS WASHINGTON STATE PRISONS" (February 25, 2010) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Sources: Mehr, Press TV (Iran), www.palestine-info.info, February 27, 2010; Al-Thawra (Syria), February 28, 2010"): "KHAMENEI CALLS TO FORM AN ISLAMIC NEW MIDDLE EAST; MASH'AL: ISRAEL WILL PASS FROM THE WORLD" (Posted February 28, 2010) (Read More...)

ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS: "AHMADINEJAD MANEUVERING HIZBULLAH AND ISRAEL INTO WAR?" by Hana Levi Julian (SNIPPET: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is reportedly angling to start another war between Israel and the Lebanese Hizbullah terrorist group in order to deflect attention away from his own lack of popularity at home. Ahmadinejad has faced constant friction from grassroots opposition movements since last June, when lopsided election results re-electing the president raised red flags among suspicious voters, who suspected the government had rigged the polls.") (Last Update February 28, 2010, 12:10 pm) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON POST.com: Jerusalem - "IRAN, SYRIA MOCK U.S. POLICY; AHMADINEJAD SPEAKS OF ISRAEL'S 'ANNIHILATION'" by Howard Schneider (SNIPPET: "The presidents of Iran and Syria on Thursday ridiculed U.S. policy in the region and pledged to create a Middle East "without Zionists," combining a slap at recent U.S. overtures and a threat to Israel with an endorsement of one of the region's defining alliances.") (February 26, 2010) (Read More...)

REUTERS.com - Beijing: "CHINA PLA OFFICER URGES CHALLENGING U.S. DOMINANCE" (SNIPPET: "Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu") (February 28, 2010, 11:11 pm EST) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

Blog.AL.com - "MISSIONARY RECOUNTS STORY OF CAPTIVITY BY MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN PHILIPPINES" by Greg Garrison - The Birmingham News (SNIPPET: "The Philippines has long been a popular stopover and outpost for notorious terrorists, including Ramzi Yousef, convicted for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; Terry Nichols, co-conspirator in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing; Osama Bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa; and 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who also had a role in the first World Trade Center attack. Abu Sayyaf leader Khadafi Abubakar Janjalani, one of Burnham's captors, bragged of talking with Bin Laden by satellite phone, according to an Associated Press report.") (February 27, 2010) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

WASHINGTON EXAMINER.com: "VA. MAN ACCUSED OF HELPING SMUGGLE SOMALIS INTO U.S." by Freeman Klopott (SNIPPET: "Authorities are searching for 270 Somalis..." SNIPPET: "...Anthony Joseph Tracy told authorities that he came in contact with the Somali terrorist organization Al-Shabaab..." SNIPPET: "In an e-mail, Tracy reportedly wrote, "i helped alot of somalis and most are good but there are some who are bad and i leave them to ALLAH," the affidavit said.") (February 23, 2010) (Read More...)

INTERNET HAGANAH.com: "JIHADIS REFLECT ON THE AUSTIN, TX ATTACK" (SNIPPET: "They seem to have confused the IRS and the CIA - nevertheless, you may be sure they learned the important lesson, namely that even a small aircraft loaded with fuel can destroy a reasonably large building.") (February 22, 2010) ) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON POST.com (AP): Rotterdam, Netherlands - "NETHERLANDS TERROR SUSPECT FIGHTS U.S. EXTRADITION" (SNIPPET: "Mohamud Said Omar, 44, is suspected of providing money to the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab that was used to buy guns. Around 20 youths of Somali descent are believed to have traveled to Somalia from Minnesota since 2007 to help the group, which the U.S. says has ties to al-Qaida.") (February 22, 2010, 12:23 pm) (Read More...)

SHIMRON LETTERS - blog: Minneapolis: "MOHAMUD SAID OMAR IS THE MINNESOTA SOMALIA ARRESTED IN THE NETHERLANDS" (November 13, 2009) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com: "IRAN SAYS WILL BUILD 2 NUCLEAR FACILITIES IN MOUNTAINS" by Dudi Cohen (Published February 22, 2010, 10:43/Israel News) (Read More...)

ISNA.ir - English - News Code: 8812-01743: Tehran - "Iran to declare good news on cetrifuges to be used in new sites: AEOI" (SNIPPET: "Iranian ministers during a meeting held in late December decided that the AEOI should within two months start construction of five enrichment sites whose places have been found across the country. The ministers also agreed that the organization offers suitable locations for the other five sites." SNIPPET: "He also said Iran is to use new centrifuges in the two new sites.") (February 22, 2010)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: IRNA (Iran), February 20, 2010"): "IRAN: WE CAN PREPARE OUR 20% NUCLEAR FUEL FOR USE IN TEHRAN REACTOR" (SNIPPET: "He added that the process of preparing nuclear fuel for shaping into rods or discs already began one year ago at the conversion facility in Esfahan.") (February 21, 2010) (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (THE STAR.com): "SCIENTIST VANISHES WITHOUT TRACE" [Chalk River Nuclear Facility, Canada] (Posted February 21, 2010) (Read More...)

INTERNET HAGANAH.com: "THREE WEBSITES OF HAMAS KNOW BY ISRAEL TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH HAMAS OPERATIVES IN THE UK" (February 23, 2010) (Read More...)

Israel.INTERNET HAGANAH.com: "BRITAIN AS A HUB OF HAMAS ACTIVISM" (SNIPPET: "File under 'dirty little secrets' the fact that Britain has for years allowed Hamas to use its territory as a base of operations.") (February 21, 2010) (Read More...)

TERRORISM-INFO.org.il - INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORISM INFORMATION CENTER: "HAMAS CONTINUES INITIATING ANTI-ISRAELI ACTIVITIES IN EUROPE: Muhammad Kazem Sawalha is a Hamas activist living in Britain who in the past was involved in operational activities in Judea and Samaria. He is personally involved in preparations to dispatch another aid convoy to the Gaza Strip by sea to confront Israel." (January 29, 2010) (Read More...)

OSAC.gov - Consular Affairs Bulletins - Report: "Warden Message: MEXICO VIOLENCE AVOID REYNOSA, NUEVO LAREDO, TAMAULIPAS" (February 24, 2010) (Read More...)

TRAVEL.STATE.GOV - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs - TRAVEL ALERT: "MEXICO - SECURITY" (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

DHS.gov - News Release: "Secretary Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Public Safety Genaro Garcia Luna Sign Declaration of Principles on Cooperative Efforts to Secure the U.S.-Mexico Border and Combat Transnational Threats" (February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

HOEKSTRA.House.gov: Washington - "HOEKSTRA PRESSES CALL FOR 'IRAN RED TEAM' AFTER NEW IAEA REPORT ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM" (February 19, 2010) (Read More...)

HOEKSTRA.House.gov: Washington - "HOEKSTRA CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT RED TEAM ON IRAN NUCLEAR ISSUE" (October 6, 2009) (Read More...)

YNET NEWS.com (REUTERS): "IAEA: IRAN MAY BE WORKING ON NUCLEAR WARHEAD" (Published February 18, 2010, 20:40/Israel News) (Read More...)

IAEA.org: "IAEA AND IRAN" (Read More...)

EXAMINER.com: "RADICAL 'MUSLIM SISTERHOOD' UNCOVERED IN EGYPT" by Jim Kouri (SNIPPET: "A special women's unit within the banned radical group Muslim Brotherhood is operating in Egypt and possibly other Arab nations, according to a counterterrorism report obtained by the Terrorism Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police.") (February 19, 2010) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (TIME.com, March 1, 2010 Issue): "'There's no longer a serious risk that southern Somalia could become a jihadi operational deployment facility. It already is."" (Posted February 19, 2010) (Read More...)

JIHAD WATCH.org (AP): "'We will attack them once we unite the Somali Holy fighters, then we will unite them with our brothers in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya to help them in their war against the infidels'" (February 13, 2010) (Read More...)

INTERNET HAGANAH.com: "*THE* WARNING" (SNIPPET: "This raises the question - who is the Faloja forum user called "afghani" and how is it that *he* knew about the capture of al-Eidan? One thing I can tell you is that identity has been active for a considerable length of time.") (February 23, 2010) (Read More...)

DEFENSE.gov (AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE): Washington - "CAPTURE OF NO. 2 TALIBAN LEADER CALLED 'SIGNIFICANT WIN'" by John J. Kruzel (SNIPPET: "...Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar...") (February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

Travel.State.Gov - UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Bureau of Consular Affairs - TRAVEL WARNING: "SAUDI ARABIA" (February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - "Exclusive: FORMER GITMO PRISONER, RAHABILITATED IN SAUDI ARABIA, MAY SOON BE RELEASED" by Judith Miller (SNIPPET: "To American officers at Guantanamo Bay, Ahmed Zaid Salem Zuhair was inmate No. 669 -- a hardcore, veteran Muslim terrorist suspected of having killed an American in Bosnia. But here in Saudi Arabia, he is a "beneficiary," a former religious deviant who, having learned the true meaning of Islam, has been rehabilitated. Repatriated from Guantanamo in mid-2009, Zuhair, 45...") (February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

Blogs.CBN.com - STAKELBECK ON TERROR: U.S. DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORIST Sits Down With Stakelbeck on Terror" [SAAD AL-FAQIH] (February 18, 2010, 4:58 pm) (SNIPPET: "As we got up to leave, I asked him how he saw the conflict between the West and the Muslim world playing out over the next few years. "No matter what Muslim leaders do, there will be more friction with the West--regardless of al-Qaeda," he told me. "There will be more confrontation between the West and Muslims, with attacks even bigger than in 2001." I exited al-Faqih's home a bit unnerved by that last comment. And thinking not so much about what he told me that afternoon as what he didn't.") (February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com: "CYBERATTACKS REPORTEDLY TRACED TO COMPUTERS IN CHINESE SCHOOLS" (Updated February 18, 2010) (Read More...)

WORLD TRIBUNE.com (Special from Geostrategy-Direct.com): Washington - "SYRIA CULTIVATING STRATEGIC TIES WITH VENEZUELA" (SNIPPET: "Western intelligence sources said Venezuela has become a key way-station for Iranian weapons deliveries to Hizbullah and Syria.") (February 17, 2010) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars, Iran, February 16, 2010"): "AHMADINEJAD WARNS OF IRAN'S CRUSHING RESPONSE TO NEW SANCTIONS" (Posted February 16, 2010) (Read More...)

THE MEMRI BLOG.org ("Source: Fars, Iran, February 16, 2010"): "IRAN TESTS NEW GENERATION OF CENTRIFUGES" (Posted February 16, 2010) (Read More...)

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch 2810: "CHILD PREACHER DELIVERS A SPEECH ON CHILDREN'S LOVE OF MARYRDOM ON EGYPTIAN TV: 'My Mother Has Presented Me as a Gift to Allah This Year'" (SNIPPET: "In the program, Abd Al-Fattah Marwan -- himself a child -- recounts that the boy smiled in his sleep when he dreamt that he would be martyred the next day.") (February 16, 2010) (Note: Videos included.) (Read More...)

FOX NEWS.com: "AL QAEDA LOOKING TO RECRUIT ENGLISH SPEAKERS, WOMEN" (SNIPPET: "Al Qaeda in Yemen is actively recruiting English-speaking individuals, intelligence officials told Fox News on Monday, saying that investigators are looking for people who are more like Americans, having been born in the United States or Canada." SNIPPET: "Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is considered the top "talent spotter." He is tied to three of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, the Fort Hood shooting and Flight 253, which carried Abdulmutallab.") (Updated February 15, 2010) (Read More...)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "U.S. HUNTS FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING BOMBERS" by Eli Lake (SNIPPET: "U.S. officials told The Washington Times that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, facing charges as a would-be suicide bomber, revealed during recent cooperation with the FBI that he met with other English speakers at a terrorist training camp in Yemen.") (February 15, 2010) (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

Link (Read More...)

!@#$% (February 14, 2010)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Briefing Room" (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Issues" (Read More...)

WHITEHOUSE.gov: "Presidential Actions" (Note: Includes Executive Orders, Proclamations, & Memos) (Read More...)