Posted on 09/08/2007 4:25:52 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Nearly six years after 9/11, what's striking is how little has changed in America - and in its war effort. And yet if we can't change ourselves, what are the chances that we can change others?
When President George W. Bush declares that the Global War on Terror is "the concentrated work of generations," one has to wonder if he really means it. Certainly there's been little concentration on effective war mobilization, and other countries have noticed.
As we look back to study wars that the United States has won - and why - the most obvious metric is the size of the force that Uncle Sam put into the field. Today our military is not much larger than in 2001; even if one includes the entire workforce of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the intelligence agencies, the total still amounts to less than 1 percent of the overall population. Yet in past wars, when the commander-in-chief was determined to win, he was willing to use any means necessary to build up strength, including a draft. That's how, for example, the Union mobilized a full 10 percent of its population into uniform during the Civil War.
Another metric is war financing. Spending for defense and war has more than doubled in the past six years, from $292 billion in fiscal 2001 to somewhere around $650 billion this year. That's a stupendous number, of course, but relative to the gross domestic product of nearly $14 trillion, it's not so much - less than 5 percent, in fact. By comparison, at the peak of World War II, war spending was consuming almost 40 percent of our economic output.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
He makes comparisons where they don't make sense. The work of generations isn't something that can be done with intensity, with movie-like constant marching in the streets and sacrifice forever.
Pinkerton is yet another 9/10 mind who simply doesn't get it--the whole point is that this isn't like any other conflict we've ever been through. His economic comparisons are not like-to-like so they make no sense.
LLS
Darkwolf377 NAILS IT!
LLS
Even Iraq does not have to deal with 50% of its population being democrats. When we are done killing muslim terrorists, we need to go to war against terrorist democrats.
“When President George W. Bush declares that the Global War on Terror is “the concentrated work of generations,” one has to wonder if he really means it.”
With 5000+ people of unknown origin meandering over our borders each week.....well, that speaks volumes about the “sincerity” of GWB and the WOT. He has no cred.
The floundering is not abroad but AT HOME. Primarily due to the Democratic media's 9/10 mindset and this generation's sit-com remote control mentality. If we don't focus on learning how to defeat terrorism we'll find it will ALWAYS be used against us and will ALWAYS defeat us. That is the lesson that some have failed to learn from Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia and now Iraq and Afghanistan.
1) no new American soil attacks, 2) the rat and the ratmedia have done the heavy lifting for our enemies and dumbed down the lemmings into believing there is no wot. Even Pinkerton a good conservative should acknowledge that.
But while we still have the libbies babbling, I don't see any attacks at home since 9/11.
If that's failure at home, may it continue forever!
When President George W. Bush declares that the Global War on Terror is “the concentrated work of generations,” one has to wonder if he really means it.
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This is a self-righteous complaint, for Pinkerton appears to be part of the crowd who thinks this war is not a war, but a police action, and one that is really our own fault. People like him don’t take the threat seriously. If the government really implemented the necessary security aspects of war, we would have domestic surveillance and certainly surveillance of any overseas communications. So, what does Pinkerton think of the very restrained NSA program?
Back in the “Greatest Generation”, we did not worry about how politically incorrect our actions would be, we worried about how to deliver death and destruction to the enemy.
The MSM has done its best to deny this war, and to belittle every effort to fight it. It is happy to trumpet defeats and especially any defect or deficiency on our part. No wonder the MSM is in commercial decline.
News as raw fact has become a commodity that is easily available for free. People no longer have to buy Newsday to get facts. They no longer have to buy Newsday even for advertising. The news business is now about analyzing the news, putting those stories in context and explaining them. Happily, I don’t have to pay Pinkerton and his ilk anymore for analysis. I can find it here, in the comments, and I can find it in the blogs. I don’t have to wade through miles of liberal tripe to find the conservative nuggets. I can go right to the nuggets.
I have found that there is almost nothing that I can learn from a liberal, except that it is a mental disorder, and one that is dangerous to our safety and prosperity, a conclusion that is continually reinforced whenever I read an opinion piece like this one.
We are victims of our own success in preventing terrorism at home. Has our safety come from our increased vigilance on the borders? Or perhaps from taking our shoes off at the airport? Hardly. Success has come from playing offense, choosing a battlefield and luring the enemy there.
America can Win the War. America will Win the War. Where I disagree with the author is war financing. Money is useless if defeated, so why sweat the small items.
Which we have been doing.
I don't see your problem. We've been winning this war both at home and abroad. If you have a philosophical dispute with how it's done, that's a luxury you have because we're winning. I don't see this "victimhood"--taking off shoes at the airport? Sorry, that's not some massive sacrifice. Has it helped? Well, it hasn't really hurt, now has it?
Pinkerton's case is actually kind of strange. On 9/12 if I told you in 2007 we'd have had NO attacks at home you'd have laughed at me, as would he. Now that we've achieved that, though, the "Yeah buts" come out.
The complaint seems to be "We're not behaving like they did in WW2."
Right. That's what decades of weapons, tactics, study and education about war does for a nation.
I am not arguing with success when I recall what failure looked like on 9/11.
“... he also can’t get his mind around the fact that we are NOT at war with a Nation-State ....”
Militant islam depends entirely upon the support of nation states and we all know who they are.
There is only ONE type of conflict: Me against You. If I believe in Me and my philosophy or way of life and regard You as a thrreat to it I take you, and those who in any way manner shape or form support you, out. ANYTHING other than this being called a war is BULLSHIT.
What we are fighting is The Police Action against Terror. In doing so we allow the enemy to put us on the defensive with respect to action taken—that is we have to justify everything we do in some court of world opinion.
There is no way there exists today the type of Leadership necessary to fight a real war against this evil enemy and THAT is the result of our dying culture.
A draft? No advisor to the president and no president would EVER dream of it. Attack the nations who support the Jihadists? Ditto! Put the rest of the world between a rock and a hard place with respect to our enemies? Yeah, right.
We’re winning in our efforts and if we have a few generations to apply it we will win entirely BUT does anyone really think this particular enemy (and include the Democrats) intends to let it go that long?. Then where will we be? I mean when the Jihadists, CONVINCED by our own actions that we really don’t have the resolve, launch the big one?
We’ll be where we SHOULD have been when the towers fell: Armed, Outraged and Done screwing around with people.
I agree with the need for Bush to come to Earth in illegals, but the facts don't support your position.
Emotionally we loathe Bush's illegal position, but seriously--he has NO cred on this issue?
Six years of no attacks at home say otherwise when the issue IS security at home.
As was spoken previously the war will be won or lost here in these United States and as we are forced to convert to Islam the people will finally know that the left-wing Democrats who talked of socialized government is the fault.
But it is then too late.
Think about it. This article states that we are at war with a movement...and not a nation state. This means that the bad guys can not be tracked from a single country...let alone a region. It’s not like we can just keep a watchful eye out for people heading west into North or Central America from Pakistan. His position on the border is totally illogical while fighting a supposed WOT. That a-hole Hugo is actually teaching Muslims how to speak Spanish and adopt Spanish “mannerisms”.
Regarding attacks on US soil... I will respond to you in private.
Reminds me of the familiar saying (out here in Iraq at least):
“America is not at war—the U.S. Military is at war. America is at the mall.”
I could expand that to say “Most of the deployed military is not at war.” Anyone who’s been on some of these lax FOBs (Victory, Green Zone, the softball games at Falcon) knows exactly what I’m talking about.
While I agree with the frustration in your voice, I also know the reality on the ground does not allow us to do what would end the war quicker. I also know from friends “in the field” that Pakistan is doing things for us behind the scenes that have and are saving American lives and the lives of our allies. We have a tricky road in some cases... in the case of Iran, I believe your “solution” will happen sooner rather than later.
LLS
Great line, I agree:
I have found that there is almost nothing that I can learn from a liberal, except that it is a mental disorder, and one that is dangerous to our safety and prosperity, a conclusion that is continually reinforced whenever I read an opinion piece like this one.
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