Posted on 12/10/2023 5:29:55 AM PST by skimbell
Why don’t we win wars anymore? Listen closely to Austin, McChrystal and virtually every military head honcho in the last twenty years and the answer is obvious. We don’t set out to win wars by defeating the enemy on the battlefield, but on the battlefield of ideas. Our forces are led by a generation of politicians in uniforms who have been indoctrinated, beginning at the academy level, to think of wars as contests for the hearts and minds of enemy civilians.
(Excerpt) Read more at danielgreenfield.org ...
Because that Hearts and Minds stuff worked so well in Vietnam.
Department of Offense needed?
We’ve had this attitude since Korea.
Korea - stalemate and technically still ongoing.
Vietnam - loss
Gulf War I - stalemate with Iraq
Gulf War II - twenty years of occupation that ended in a humiliating withdrawal
America has two problems with its wars: 1) It is extremely adverse to U.S. casualties, and 2) It is extremely adverse to enemy civilian casualties.
And Greenfield is right, we think that once we occupy a country, they’ll fall in love with the American Dream and become allies. That hasn’t worked since WWII.
Self serving Politicians run the Military. They don’t care about winning.
You win when you completely destroy your enemy a la Germany and Japan in WW2. Anything other than that is a loss.
We haven’t won since politicians started setting the ROE in the Korean War. We have sidelined the ones who know how to win for posturing clowns who can’t find their left foot. “You can’t bomb Haiphong!” Bull crap! Short wars saves lives on both sides. We pay our General to run wars, let them earned their pay. Meanwhile, sit down and STFU.
What the generals have to say really doesn’t matter much. Ike and MacArthur were successful mainly because FDR had his head on straight. That’s where the buck stopped.
WW2 would have ended very differently had FDR been wishy-washy and open to compromise.
FDR: Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan must be defeated.
Contrast that with:
George W. Bush: Islam is peace.
Joe Biden: Cease-fire in Gaza, please.
.
The recently departed Henry Kissinger opened up China thus flanking the Russian move into Indo China. The entry of China changed the balance
The USSR and China were both assisting the Viet Minh when France was fighting the first Indochina war in the late 40s and early 50s.
> Department of Offense needed? <
You might actually be on to something.
From 1789 until 1947 the Defense Department was called the War Department.
“War Department”, that name had serious weight.
“Defense Department”, maybe not so much.
You start with the hearts and minds right after the enemy has been destroyed. Then, they will listen. On a side note, Sec Def Austin looked like he hated being at the Army Navy Game.
Another thing is conflict is not in order to “win.” People go in and serve their tour and then go on to other things. Whether officers do a good job or bad job has zero reflection on their career or the conflict. Conflict is just a job. It’s not something we need to win so why invest the hardware and casualties that come with winning? Also, once you’ve “won”, what then? We’re not allowed to go in and change anyone’s culture because we have to honor their culture because all cultures are alike. But their culture created the issue we are allegedly trying to change. Hint, we aren’t really changing anything unless you go in and eliminate what the bad culture issue is. That might involve selectively killing people who are the source of the bad culture. (Oh! Can’t do that! All cultures are alike!)
This all starts with not keeping score in childhood games. It goes on with allowing bad behavior in schools because it’s just their culture. It continues with teaching boys not to have “toxic” (aggressive) behavior. It involves drugging boys to keep them under control. I’d argue the problem starts here with teaching children America is no better than, and arguably worse than, third world (defecation) pits. And I’m sure it’s really helpful to tell prepubescent boys they are really girls inside and need surgery.
The problem with losing starts in grade school in America.
Parents change the minds of fools with warnings first, punishments next, and rebuilding the relationships after the fools admit to their foolishness and sincerely repent of ever doing it again.
States need to break the will of the foolishness of their enemies the same way.
"A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left." Ecclesiastes 10:2
Money everyone is in on the money war brings to the table and in thier private bank accounts
Actually, it did. Where we failed in Vietnam was when all of our efforts to protect the lives of the locals were obliterated by idiots who thought that inaccurate bombing, randomly fired artillery (Harassment and Interdiction - H&I fires) and sprayed chemicals would help win the war.
Our war wasn't against the local farmers and fishermen and their families, who were the real Center of Gravity - our war was against the entrenched Hard Corps VC and the NVA invaders who used those locals as resupply and shields.
The Marine Corps had incredibly brave and committed men who chose to stay out in the villages and live among the locals and teach them, arm them, and show their commitment, day after day at enormous risk.
That was how our war would have been won.
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