April 2018 Archives
You want to know what our most precious and limited resource is?
Young men and women willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our country. When we run out of them, we will be dust, along with Bablyon and Nineveh and Tyre.
So when our leaders start talking about acts of war, I want to know what vital self interest we will be defending that is worth the expenditure of however many of our most precious resource it takes.
I want to see a plan of campaign that displays a clear path to victory - and understand that 'Victory" means the other side is either wiped out or gives up because they plainly have no other options. I want it clearly defined what "Victory" will look like, so that people with a reasonable understanding of the situation can tell if it is achievable or not, and whether it is worth spending our most precious resource to try to attain.
I want to see a plan of campaign that remembers Sun Tzu's adage that the moral is to the physical as ten to one. I want to see a reason why our troops will have a moral and morale advantage, and why that advantage will do nothing but grow. This has destroyed us in every single military action of my lifetime.
I want to see the military free of political constraints on their objectives beyond the most basic "don't attack our allies unless you catch them aiding our enemies." If you have to impose political constraints on the military, none of the above requirements apply to the situation - you're playing politics, not fighting a war, and the lives of our military service folk are far too important for politics.
There has been not one military action in my lifetime that was not playing politics instead of fighting a war - and that very pointedly includes Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the Global War on Terror. Even clearly necessary actions have been hamstrung by political considerations, which is why we have won every significant battle and lost every single war in my lifetime, at a grievous cost in our most precious national resource.
I'm not military veteran. But I have undertaken an awful lot of study, from Sun Tzu through Frederick and Napoleon and Clausewitz and all the campaigns since, tempered by a study of logistics and economics. I may not be up to the standards of the Military War College - but those men and women are bound to obey the chain of command and not to contradict that chain of command. I, on the other hand, am free to disagree with that chain of command.
This has been my consistent stance throughout my entire adult life.
So when I blast any politician's stance or actions on proposed military action by the United States, you know where I'm coming from.
Trump's attack on Syria (like Obama's in Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, and even Afghanistan) does not have a coherent strategy, a reasonable path to victory, or even a clear articulation of what victory would look like. It is a counterproductive waste of American lives and resources. It may not be impeachable under the Constitution, but it is certainly a reason not to support him for re-election if it continues. The fact that he did so at all is certainly a mark against him when I consider my next set of ballot choices.
People seem a little fuzzy about the concept of adulthood and legal adulthood, so let's take a look at.
Adulthood is that state where a person has been adjudged by society and the culture to be capable of making their own decisions and dealing with the consequences of those decisions.
There are responsibilities that come with the traditional rights of adulthood. The right to sign contracts carries with it the responsibility of honoring your end of the contract, no matter how difficult or unfair it may be. You agreed to it; you must have thought you were getting something worth what you paid.
The consumption or possession of age-restricted substances, the right of sexual consent, the right to keep and bear arms, the right of contract, and the rights of voting and serving on a jury. Of those, the 'civil rights' of voting and serving on juries *always* effect the lives of others, so they are never extended before 'full' adulthood. Similarly, you wouldn't want a contract with someone who is not a full adult, because they have the legal option of disclaiming it.
So when you talk about restricting other things to higher ages than 18 because "they aren't old enough yet" or "they're not mature enough yet", I cannot honor any of those arguments unless you are also arguing to restrict the voting age to that higher number, exempt them from jury service until that higher number, and prevent them from the right of contract until that age.
Adult is adult. If they're not mature enough to own firearms, drink alcohol, or drive a car without age related restrictions, they certainly aren't mature enough to vote, to serve on juries, or to sign contracts.
You either are an adult, or you're not. That person over there, too - they either are an adult or they are not.
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