Our next war...

"Bottom line is this. We need a housecleaning with our leadership before we engage with any country over anything. The leadership vacuum in DOD and State is both wide and scary." 

One of the purposes of the DOD, is to prepare for the next war. War planning, war gaming, and so forth. The possible enemies we prepare for keep changing over time. For example, we don't need to anticipate war with England or Canada like we did 200 years ago. We don't need to prepare for Germany and Japan like we did 80 years ago. Today, it is Iran, China, Russia and now maybe Pakistan. But after what happened in Afghanistan, I don't know if we could win a war with Liechtenstein. 

So what is the problem with our military? The fighting men and women? Not a bit. Top shelf all the way. Our war fighting equipment? Nope. Again top shelf. What is it then? In World War II, we did not want to be involved. Happy to be on the sidelines, supporting the Allies via Lend-Lease Program. We were a bit worried about Japan, but never in a million years did we think they would or could attack our ships at Pearl. 

After the December 7, 1941 surprise attack, the United States did not have many ships left. It was only by the grace of God we did not have our carriers in port when the attack happened.  All of a sudden, when the fires at Pearl were still burning, our President declares war on Japan. What did we have to fight the Japanese? Leadership. We had iron clad leaders of men. Visionaries. War fighters extraordinaire. New ships, planes and other military hardware would come. But it was the extraordinary leadership which helped us stay in to, and eventually win the war.

Today, our military leadership, all the way up to the Commander-in-Chief, really sucks. Our war planning, has been replaced with looking for white supremists within the ranks, having a "stand down" to teach the troops about CRT, and how to fight the biggest villain of all - climate change. Huh? What kind of war planning is that? It is not. And that is the problem.

Looking back on all our wars since WW II, here is my take (as well as many historians) on how we did, our should have done:

• Korea - The United States was very war weary after WW II. That was the biggest problem. We fought the Norks and the Chicoms to a draw. Under different circumstances, could we have won? Absolutely.
• Viet Nam - Enough said. The politicians lost the war - not our war fighters. 
• Gulf War -  Good leadership, good generals, great equipment. We beat the forth largest army in the world in almost record time. The "Mother of all Battles" turned into the "Mother of all Defeats" for Saddam.
• Afghanistan - Twenty years of confused leadership, topped off by Biden's surrender to the Taliban. Could we, should we have won over this band of 12th century reprobates? In a heartbeat. 

Bottom line is this. We need a housecleaning with our leadership before we engage with any country over anything. The leadership vacuum in DOD and State is both wide and scary. 

Our sixth generation fighters are going from the drawing board to prototypes. Our newest Ford Class carrier has started construction. Lasers are entering the battlefield. All that is good, real good. But without sound leadership guiding our troops, it is all for naught.

Real leadership, the likes of Nimitz, Spruance, Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower win wars. Austin, Blinken and Millie? Not even close. They need to be shown the door.