The American Way Of War Is Not Working

U.S. Army Spc. Kaleb Propst provides security overwatch at a meeting for leaders at a Bala Boluk district building in Afghanistan's Farah province, Jan. 2, 2013. Propst is a security force team member for Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, which trains, advises and assists Afghan government leaders at the municipal, district, and provincial levels in Farah province. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup

The American Way Of War -- Alan Caruba, Theo Spark

The U.S. military has been in Afghanistan since shortly after September 11, 2001. That’s eleven years and it is longer than the time spent in Vietnam, though with less casualties. We invaded Iraq twice, once to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait after he invaded in 1990 and then, in 2003 to depose him in the hope of bringing “democracy” to that nation. After the 2005 elections, Iraq was eager to see us leave, but many observers say it is as wracked with violence today as it was during our occupation.

The American way of war is not working and has not been working since the 1970s.
Armies are not intended to be “nation building” forces. Their job is to kill the enemy and break things until a threat to our national security is ended. We did that during World War II, fighting it in two theatres, Europe and Asia. We won because we inflicted an enormous amount of damage in both theatres of war in just four year’s time.

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My Comment: Nation building has always been (at least in my life time) a significant part of the culture and mindset of American society when it comes to helping countries in need. If there is a disaster in any part of the world .... the Americans are usually the first foreigners to arrive .... always filled with aid and assistance to a grateful people. But if the past decade has taught us anything it is that conducting war and nation building at the same time does not work .... and if anything may aggravate a bad situation into something even worse. We should have left Iraq after Saddam Hussein was captured .... we should have left Afghanistan after Osama bin Laden was killed .... but we choose to stay .... making me wonder if our present day conflicts are more about commerce (i.e. hiring contractors and supplying our soldiers and allies with the essentials) than being focused on our own national security. In short .... we need a major rethink on what are we doing in some of the trouble spots around the world .... and in view of our dire financial and debt situation .... we better do it fast.