Posted on 10/05/2007 9:51:15 AM PDT by america4vr
America is the richest country and the most sophisticated high-tech military power in the world, and is spending more on defence in real terms than at any time since the end of the second world war. Yet it is being exhausted by insurgents armed with AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised bombs. With strong pressure on President George Bush to withdraw from Iraq, jihadist militants scent a victory as momentous as the eviction of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989—a defeat that helped to dissolve the Soviet empire.
True, America has recovered from previous disasters, not least the Vietnam war. But its military troubles come at a time when the global strategic balance appears to be tilting away from America. Iran is filling the vacuum created in Iraq, and is accelerating its nuclear programme. China's military punch is growing along with its booming economy. Russia is more belligerent. The transatlantic relationship is loveless. Across the world, anti-Americanism has increased to the point where the United States is often regarded as a threat to world peace rather than its guarantor.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
The real danger to America is from within.
The real danger to America is from within.
Even before the surge was announced, Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and an ex-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said that the active army was “about broken”.Remember when this lying POS was actually considered as a possible Republican Presidential contender? What a joke. He never could have been a contender!
“But its military troubles come at a time when the global strategic balance appears to be tilting away from America.”
Sorry, this sentence just made me laugh out loud. I work for a company within the “military industrial complex” and I can tell you that even my small company is working on technology the Russians and Chinese can’t even dream of yet.
Goldwater:
I don’t fear the Soviet Union, I fear this country’s lack of morals.
Go to the story. Look up to the top lefthand corner “the comeback kids” that tells anyone all they need to know about this hit piece.
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9401945
They don’t have too, it will get stolen for them as soon as you guys go operational.
Yeah. It seems the country has gone the way of its morals.
No it is not. This is the mistake all the pseudo intellectual Leftist trash around the world make. They confuse what they WANT to believe with reality.
“jihadist militants scent a victory”
The odor wafting in from American democrats...
The only military troubles that we have is that our politicians won’t allow them to do their job. Turn our military loose, let them fight the battle and they will get this thing over with and come home. Remember the old saying? “Let loose the dogs of war”. If the people of the Middle East, especially Iran, want war, take it to them. Put them back in the 7th Century and the world will be at peace for another 1000 years. Do nothing and we will be at war forever. Get it done and get it over with. Send sharia law back to the middle east also.
How true. You anticipated my thoughts on this. I wonder how much of the vaunted Chinese space program has been made in America.
This double post was warranted.
If we waged war like our enemies do, I’m not sure we’d be very exhausted at all.
Since the US tends to a) wage war in a way that essentially treats the enemy like its confused a bit, and not really homicidal. and b) once we’ve won, we rebuild your economy for you at no charge, its no wonder we are a little tired at times.
That's because the England of Drake and Nelson, Churchill and Thatcher is now a left-wing wanker and an embarrassment to be seen in public with.
Isn’t it nice that uropeeing socialists are worried about our emminent fall a super power. I guess if they really believed this assessment they would increase rather than decrease their military spending. This are the same asshats that couldn’t handle their own hillbillies - remember Bosnia - and could only act if we did the heavy lifting. I have long since stop listening to our betters, the uropeeings, regarding any serious matter on foreign policy or military policy. Europe is nothing more than a nursing home. It is niether vital or vigorous at anything.
“the England of Drake and Nelson, Churchill and Thatcher...”
Wow. The fall has been long and hard.
Marxist rag.
We lost...
looming deficits,
We still have them...But they're much bigger now...
adversaries that seem can't be defeated, to resolute emerge as strong as ever.
Ya got me on that one...We did whip the tar out of Granada...
it's no different this time.
Nobody pays any attention to the lessons taught by PGW I and the
advance of technology on the battlefield. Maintaining huge standing
armies is blase. Large concentrations of ground troops can be
neutralized very quickly.
The army is stretched to the breaking point? Approximately
1/3 of army combat capacity is in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of the
support function is being performed by natl guard and reserves.
Can any of you gentle readers provide some data regarding army
combat capacity in terms of attack helo and M1 deployments?
I have seen no numbers.
As far as the USMC is concenred, deployment in Iraq/Afghanistan
of combat capacity is approx 28%. I am using the total manpower figure
of 135K standing personnel. Is that number accurate? I recall reading
the standing manpower of the USMC and it strikes me that I am off
somewhat. I am lowballing the figure.
Now, the USAF and the USN.
Last time I checked there were two carrier groups in/around the PG. Given
that one carrier group is always on a permamnent post in the PG, carrier
capacity is not overstretched. 2/12 = 16% of total cap. Extending this
to navel combat: Assuming an a/c carrier carries approx 90 strike/fighter
and support ac, given 12 ac carriers, we have 1080 combat a/c posted
to the carriers at any one time. Also assuming that the navy holds a
number of a/c in ‘reserve’ at various naval air stations around the world,
we see that navel air power is nowhere near overstretch as likely less than
200 naval a/c are on station at any one time in the PG w/ 2 carriers on
point.
I don’t have figures for the USAF and I am not even going to hypothesize.
A number of tasks were assigned to the air guard and AF reserve units for
the Gulf. Hmmmm. Perhaps there is some logic to the lyrics of the
Oscar Brand tune “Call Out the Goddamned Reserves...”
Here’s to the regular air force;
they have such a wonderful plan;
they call out the goddam reservists
whenever the crap hits the fan!
When the reservists are doing assignments that they can effectively
handle, it leaves the regulars to handle more serious issues w/ all those
America bashers!
US defense doctrine is shifting/has been shifting/is supposed to shift
toward the US being capable of fighting 1 Big War and 1 Little War.
That is a shift from the 2 Big Wars and 1 Little War from the 1970s and
1980s doctrine. Seems to me that when you have less than 20% of your
navy and likely less than 10% of your air force involved in a war, and
only about 1/3 of you army and marines, that suggests you have the
Little War ongoing and will be quite capable of handing the idiot
Russians and their fools the Chinese. Or is that the other way around?
MV
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