fargingbastige's blog

I cannot help but think about terrorism given that we are in the midst of electing a new president for our country and commander-in-chief for our military.  Candidate Obama speaks of late about "failed policy" in dealing with world affairs.  I think the failed policies were in effect prior to the current administration and that the current president has actually developed and implemented a very robust and successful foreign policy. 

Let's recall the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 - I realize that many of the readers of the blog may not have even been born in 1983, but it was among the first incidents of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism with which the US had to deal.  Remember the truck bomb that detonated in the basement of the World Trade Center in 1993 - another strike against us from terrorists with the goal of detroying our country and our way of life.  That same year was the incidents in Mogadishu made famous by the book (and subsequently movie) "Black Hawk Down".  It is suspected that that entire operation was planned and executed by Osama Bin Laden-trained terrorists.  The Khobar Towers were bombed in 1996; once again, Americans targeted by terrorists.  The USS Cole was bombed in Yemen in 2000, leading up to the 11 September 2001 World Trade Center and Pentgon attack.  I would suggest that this entire string of incidents started with the Iran Hostage episode in 1979.  Yes, friends, almost thirty years of being bullied by terrorists.

So the WMD never materialized in the vast quantities that our government thought in Iraq.  Does that mean that the Hussein regime was innocent of any wrong-doing?  Did he not use WMD on thousands of his own countrymen?  The vast majority of decision makers in our country (republicans and democrats alike) and our allies believed that Iraq had these weapons - and would use them.  We had flawed intelligence.  We realize that now.  I would submit that that was yet another part of the previous failed foreign policy dating back to the Carter Administration, but most certainly after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  With the collapse of the Soviet Union and that huge threat, our country basically all but abandoned our Human Intelligence (HUMINT) in favor of other methods; signal, etc. 

That lack of HUMINT puts our operations at a huge disadvantage.  What good is it to be able to read a license plate from outer space if you don't know the guy driving the car?  Wars are won by troops on the ground and no other method can replace it.  Air Power supports and shapes operations, but Soldiers (Marines, Sailors and Airmen) on the ground ultimately win the wars.

Thirty years of terrorist attacks on our country and our people; thankfully we're doing something about it now.  The hard, slow work that will ultimately win the war and help protect the United States of America.