On the other hand in the 1980's Mommar Qaddafi {sp} was set back by a missile in his tent. He understood you mess with us we come for you. he got awful quiet for a long time after that. No foreign head of state should be immune from our wrath if they wish to engage us.
The best way not to be attacked and this applies whether it involves another nation or the thug trying to rob you is how you present yourself to others. You present yourself as weak be ready to be attacked. On the other hand if the Bully Thug knows you are armed and will act accordingly he thinks twice. In the months up to 9/11 we had a ship bombed and a plane forced out of the sky in International Air Space. Someone saw the events as a weakness to exploit.
We have got to get our military posture back and that includes a realistic standing active duty military. Part of the reason we were attacked on 9/11 had to do with active duty 24/7/365 readiness. A plane went flying into the Pentagon for Pete sake. It wasn't shot down. That showed the world how much of Washington , DC was open to attack.
Some could say this was a first but actually it wasn't. In the 1970's a whack job held the people of East Tennessee in terror by having an airliner circle Oak Ridge threatening to send it crashing into the nuke weapons facilities. Had he crashed into his target as he threatened I would not be here typing to you. I live close enough that I am at ground zero first strike if we take a hit. I'm also down wind by less than 10 air miles.
We have to get the State Department out of the hair of the Pentagon and out of the loop when it comes to military action. Some blame the media but that place leaks like a sieve.
We need more covert operations in fighting terrorist cells but they need to be ran by the Pentagon not by the CIA or other agencies. As such the new DHS is a farce and should be closed. Accountability would be there. We've got to get strong enough to where we face our fights alone. We aren't there by any means. We should be the guaranteers of no one freedoms but our own.
Saddam could have been taken almost any time had we not announced to the world we're coming to get you. The same with bin Ladden. The State Department should have been used to quietly convey the message you have so much time to stop your actions or we come after you and say no more. Don't make empty threats to thugs. I'm old enough to remember PUEBLO and LBJ's empty threats to NK and the Commanders Court Martial that followed. What do we have now? A POTUS threatening NK but no action. Saying nothing would have been wiser than giving him a false confidence. I can only hope a quiet mosquito see's NK's leader & lands on the honored ones parade if you catch my meaning.
Being nice to heads of state sponsoring terrorism has earned us misery as a reward. I'm not anti-war but I think war should be a last resort. Once declared it being an absolute act no mercy no rules of engagement. If there are better ways to obtain the same results short of it then do it.
Realistically we have to understand our troops must come first. That means they like equipment need downtime and replacements. Gulf War one cost us a carrier believe it or not due to missed downtime and over deployment three times in three years. Some ask how are you going to get the needed manpower? Here's some ideas. Restore the original GI Bill. My company in basic training was among the last to receive it. Limit first time enlistments total obligations to 6 years. Only in cases of advanced special training should an actual first time enlistment active duty be 6 full years active duty. Meaning such programs as Navy Nuclear propulsion etc where the classes alone take a year. Go back to 3/3 and 4/2 enlistments except for career second enlistment and beyond contracts. A lifer knows the score and can make such a serious obligation with full understanding. If my grandkid right now was to want to join the military as good as I know it was for me I would not encourage him because of the 8 year obligation rule.
Train more recruits for active duty and end the Army National Guard dependence. My unit trained to protect Oak Ridge. Being locals we knew the terrain, roads, ridges, valleys, etc. You can train a green recruit off the street for combat overseas about as fast as you can an Army NG Unit. Army NG's BTW many were not Army or Marine vets but rather prior service AF and Navy. That means they never had Army Basic. We found out a year ago how valuable NG's are to state and local civil defense. They should be returned to that posture with special training in response to domestic terrorist attacks.
Here is one that really sticks in my craw. Never ever turn over a scumbag like Saddam that the Armed Forces of the United States went to war to capture to any other jurisdiction. With actions such as that it's worth someone yelling a loud What Are You Doing!
We frisk granny at the airport and take her face cream {granny who any idiot with two functioning brain cells knows is harmless} yet we park three nuclear carriers in a shipyard {not the same readiness posture as a Naval Base} at the same time. If you wish I can show you a picture taken at Norfolk, VA that should make you madder than a wet hen. It was taken after Jan 1995 I am certain. One half minus one of the entire U.S. Navy Carrier Fleet all berthed in a row at the same base at once. That laxness brought us 9/11. Wanna know what was once classified information even on recent built carriers? Look at the military or history channel. Had I tried to get me a look see at the Mags I would have gotten a U.S. Marine Issued M-16 slug to my skull.
I'll go further on this. I would prohibit women from serving on United States Navy Combat ships. Ships are not a place for social engineering, PC, nor being nice for that matter. Ah enough said about it I think you get the idea. My idea of military readiness that was taught me and what is being passed off for it today is lacking. That includes the new no shouting at recruits in basic PC nonsense. We are losing the war and it's right here in our own nation. We better get a good grip on it before we go looking for more elsewhere.
You may not think much about my ideas but I served on active duty in what was then the lowest level of morale, readiness, and discipline since WW2. It was called the Hollow Carter Military. The only wise move Carter made was his second Secretary of the Navy who went back to the basics starting in 1979. Despite all our problems our fires lit, our screws turned, and we passed all readiness evaluations.
If Jimmy Carter as poor a POTUS as he was and he was apthetic indeed, and the DEMs as sorry as they were could keep a Cold War military deployable how come the GOP refused to correct the damge done from 1989-present? Simple. They are all on the same team on military readiness. To all of them it was a non issues. Poppy and Cheney cut it the Clinton and the DEMs cut it deeper. The GOP then said well look at all the money we saved the taxpayers and they did nothing. How do I know they did nothing? After 9/11 two aircraft cariers failed critical readiness issues. There was no excuse for it and two Navy Captains were made scapegoats for a Pentagon and congresional created problem. All of them used the military budget to divide it up for their pork projects. If Bush & the GOP or any party for that matter wants to ever convince me again they are serious about our national defense then they better start making it priority number 1. So far I have seen nothing to point to that. What will it take?
Check my homepage. I was there with you, bro. When I started boot camp, Ford was still President. I remember those days well. Some of my fellow airmen, the ones with families, had to go on welfare to make ends meet and feed their kids. We had pilots losing their ratings because there wasn't enough JP-4 to fuel the planes.
What will it take?
There is no doubt in my mind. Another attack.
The dems have made opposition to the war and the mostly gentlemanly way we're fighting it part of their party's political opposition to Pres. Bush and the Republicans. The DBM have wholeheartedly joined them, attempting to relive their glory days of Woodward and Bernstein bringing down all the president's men, and they are completely awash in political correctness.
A lot of what you attribute to spineless, gutless Republican leadership, in reality comes from democrat and the DBM's constant vilification of those Republicans and the Republican's policies. And yes, too many Republicans need to grow a pair.
Another attack will happen, and then perhaps enough Americans will tell the DBM and dems to STFU. But it certainly is NOT happening now. They just won Congress back, for goodness sake! Considering that all you propose is opposed by the dems, which side do you think the public is taking?