When I was young and stupid some guys got into fights. Some gained a reputation as a street fighter. This reputation caused more fights because somebody was always trying to prove they were tough. People would talk about black belts, boxers, wrestlers, football players, weight lifters, and other physical attributes for fighters. I noticed the best street fighters seldon had any of these attributes, but won. Why?
I think the primary reason was that the street fighter knew somebody was going to get hurt, and the longer the fight continued, the more likely they both would be hurt. For this reason the street fighter would normally avoid a fight as long as possible, but if a fight could not be avoided, his objective was to end the fight as quickly as possible. There were no courtesies or rules.
I feel we should have the same attitude with our military policy. Diplomacy should be first, but if that does not work, military action may be necessary. If we take any military action it should be an all out effort to win. Limited actions just drag out conflicts and cost lives. President Theodore Roosevelt said. “Talk softly and carry a big stick.” Some people think he was a warmonger and a colonialist, but I think he was right about military action.
I was in the Artmy during the Vietnam war. We did not win that war. Why? Maybe it was a war that could not be won. The French had been fighting in Vietnam for years before we got involved. They had less success than we did. Some great militry minds had warned that we should never get involved in a ground conflict in Southeast Asia.
Could we have won the Vietnam War? Maybe. Some high ranking North Veitnam Generls say we could have won. They said they were close to surrendering when we were bombing Hanoi, but we stopped the bombing. When we invaded Cambodia, they said we were within a few clicks of their headquarters and were ready to surrender, but we stopped and pulled back. Who knows if these claims are true, but if so, why did we change successful military campaigns. The answer is politics. President Nixon let public sentimant dictate military action in my opinion. War and politics don't go together. Fight to win or don't fight.
The result was many good men died serving their country that did not have to die. Nam was a terrible war and returning veterans did not receive the support or thanks they deserved. I have seen estimates that more Vietnam veterans committed suicide after returning home than were killed in Vietnam.
A good friend of mine lost his right arm at the shoulder in Nam. He told me that it was worth the arm to get out alive, but the damage was more than the arm. He never fully recovered mentally, and never led a normal life. It took almost thirty years, but he eventually swallowed his gun. His son had a hard time with the suicide and I wrote him a letter that Nam had killed his Dad. It just took a long time and a lot of suffering for him to die.
Luckily, Veteran Administration health care is doing a lot better job treating returning veterans for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I know the VA has had some problems with corrupt bureaucrats, but they are doing a lot better than after Vietnam. There still is room for improvement. Our veterans deserve the best.
We are now in a war with terror. We better forget the political correctness and recognize that this is a religious war with radical Islam. This is not a war with any single country. There is no central command. Today ISIS is the big threat, but the name continually changes. This Jihad war is intended to convert people to the Muslim religion, establish Sharia law worldwide, and kill all infidels. It is that simple. We better recognize the facts.
I don’t know if or where we should take military action, but if we fight, we must fight to win. Limited military actions delay peace and cost lives. I also have a big problem in arming and training people that later become our enemies and use our weapons against us. We have made that mistake too often in the past. I hope we can learn from history.
Fight to win or don’t fight.
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