Posted on 09/26/2001 11:49:23 AM PDT by Askel5
14 September, 2001Dear friends, and fellow Americans,
Like everyone else in this great country, I am reeling from last week's attack on our sovereignty. But unlike some, I am not reeling from surprise.
As a career soldier and a student and teacher of military history, I have a different perspective and I think you should hear it. This war will be won or lost by the American citizens, not diplomats, politicians or soldiers.
Let me briefly explain. In spite of what the media, and even our own government is telling us, this act was not committed by a group of mentally deranged fanatics. To dismiss them as such would be among the gravest of mistakes. This attack was committed by a ferocious, intelligent and dedicated adversary. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't admire these men and I deplore their tactics, but I respect their capabilities.
The many parallels that have been made with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are apropos. Not only because it was a brilliant sneak attack against a complacent America, but also because we may well be pulling our new adversaries out of caves 30 years after we think this war is over, just like my father's generation had to do with the formidable Japanese in the years following WW II.
These men hate the United States with all of their being, and we must not underestimate the power of their moral commitment. Napoleon, perhaps the world's greatest combination of soldier and statesman, stated "the moral is to the physical as three is to one."
Patton thought the Frenchman underestimated its importance and said moral conviction was five times more important in battle than physical strength. Our enemies are willing -- better said anxious -- to give their lives for their cause. How committed are we America? And for how long?
In addition to demonstrating great moral conviction, the recent attack demonstrated a mastery of some of the basic fundamentals of warfare taught to most military officers worldwide, namely simplicity, security and surprise. When I first heard rumors that some of these men may have been trained at our own Air War College, it made perfect sense to me.
This was not a random act of violence, and we can expect the same sort of military competence to be displayed in the battle to come. This war will escalate, with a good portion of it happening right here in the good ole' U.S.of A.
These men will not go easily into the night. They do not fear us.
We must not fear them.
In spite of our overwhelming conventional strength as the world's only "superpower" (a truly silly term), we are the underdog in this fight. As you listen to the carefully scripted rhetoric designed to prepare us for the march for war, please realize that America is not equipped or seriously trained for the battle ahead.
To be certain, our soldiers are much better than the enemy, and we have some excellent "counter-terrorist" organizations, but they are mostly trained for hostage rescues, airfield seizures, or the occasional "body snatch," (which may come in handy). We will be fighting a war of annihilation, because if their early efforts are any indication, our enemy is ready and willing to die to the last man.
Eradicating the enemy will be costly and time consuming. They have already deployed their forces in as many as 20 countries, and are likely living the lives of everyday citizens. Simply put, our soldiers will be tasked with a search and destroy mission on multiple foreign landscapes, and the public must be patient and supportive until the strategy and tactics can be worked out.
For the most part, our military is still in the process of redefining itself and presided over by men and women who grew up with - and were promoted because they excelled in - Cold War doctrine, strategy and tactics. This will not be linear warfare, there will be no clear "centers of gravity" to strike with high technology weapons. Our vast technological edge will certainly be helpful, but it will not be decisive. Perhaps the perfect metaphor for the coming battle was introduced by the terrorists themselves aboard the hijacked aircraft -- this will be a knife fight, and it will be won or lost by the ingenuity and will of citizens and soldiers, not by software or smart bombs.
We must also be patient with our military leaders. Unlike Americans who are eager to put this messy time behind us, our adversaries have time on their side, and they will use it. They plan to fight a battle of attrition, hoping to drag the battle out until the American public loses its will to fight. This might be difficult to believe in this euphoric time of flag waving and patriotism, but it is generally acknowledged that America lacks the stomach for a long fight.
We need only look as far back as Vietnam, when North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap (also a military history teacher) defeated the United States of America without ever winning a major tactical battle. American soldiers who marched to war cheered on by flag waving Americans in 1965 were reviled and spat upon less than three years later when they returned. Although we hope that Usama Bin Laden is no Giap, he is certain to understand and employ the concept.
We can expect not only large doses of pain like the recent attacks, but also less audacious "sand in the gears" tactics, ranging from livestock infestations to attacks at water supplies and power distribution facilities. These attacks are designed to hit us in our "comfort zone" forcing the average American to "pay more and play less" and eventually eroding our resolve. But it can only work if we let it.
It is clear to me that the will of the American citizenry - you and I - is the center of gravity the enemy has targeted. It will be the fulcrum upon which victory or defeat will turn. He believes us to be soft, impatient, and self-centered. He may be right, but if so, we must change.
The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, (the most often quoted and least read military theorist in history), says that there is a "remarkable trinity of war" that is composed of the (1) will of the people, (2) the political leadership of the government, and (3) the chance and probability that plays out on the field of battle, in that order. Every American citizen was in the crosshairs of last Tuesday's attack, not just those that were unfortunate enough to be in the World Trade Center or Pentagon.
The will of the American people will decide this war. If we are to win, it will be because we have what it takes to persevere through a few more hits, learn from our mistakes, improvise, and adapt. If we can do that, we will eventually prevail.
Everyone I've talked to in the past few days has shared a common frustration, saying in one form or another "I just wish I could do something!" You are already doing it. Just keep faith in America, and continue to support your President and military, and the outcome is certain. If we fail to do so, the outcome is equally certain.
God Bless America
Dr. Tony Kern, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
Former Director of Military History, USAF Academy
Some interesting -- and starkly realistic -- observations as well as some small bit of hope therein ... assuming the likes of Patton have been right all the while (by which it follows we've been dangerously off course since before the good General's untimely death).
Still, with only six replies on yours, probably well worth a repeat.
Thanks!
I wonder how long it will take the peaceniks to realize that their TV pundits won't be any help when death strikes at their homes.
The United States may have to accomodate them, decimate them, to a point that there is no longer enough to pursue the cause. Have we the stomach for that? I hope so.
Bad behavior stops only when the penalty exceeds the reward; not before.
Nice article, except for the above sentence.
There is one HUGE difference between Pearl Harbor and WTC 911.
Congress has not formally declared war on the perpetrators.
Until that is done, this is another Korea, Vietnam, Central America, and it will not obtain the complete support of the American people.
There are plenty or terrorist lists in the hands of Congress - one was provided by President Bush as recently as Monday - and it is high time the Congress put the names on those lists behind a Declaration Of War.
Dr. Kern alludes obliquely to the Pacific campaign of World War II (pulling men out of caves) and I think that is the appropriate analogy here. In the Pacific, the Japanese were more than willing to die for their Emperor, much as the present-day enemy is happy to die for his cause in order to see Allah and meet his 12 virgins. The Japanese fighters were dug in deep, and they weren't going to come out alive. The American forces had to burn them out, one cave at a time, one island at a time. The US command tabulated the cost and knew it was going to be very high so they went to the bypassing strategy and identified those objectives worth taking from a strategic point of view. It was a long and bloody campaign but finally put us in a position to end it quickly and decisively. I wonder if this war will go down a similar path, and if it does, will we have the resolve and courage to see it through?
Knife fights were once common in America, and one truth that survives from those days is that in a knife fight usually the one who loses is the one who dies first. Usually both participants died from their wounds, one after the other. Where the winner survived there was generally complete surprise.
Their readiness and willingness to die is based on false hopes and beliefs. You don't see many suicide bombers among the IRA or other terrorist groups but among the Islamic fundamentalists, there are plenty. They have been led to believe that they are fighting against Satan and dying in the cause will make them a martyr, which means they will go to Allah and be in the bosom of Abraham and have x number of virgins to attend them. All this is a big crock of you know what.
We need the recognized leaders of Islam in the world, whoever they are and whatever they are called, to issue a joint statement saying that this belief is wrong, that suicide and killing others in the process will only provide a ticket to the Islamic version of hell. It may not persuade all of these terrorists but will cause some that believe they are following a just cause to re-think what they are doing.
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