The ISIL War: The Real Cost of 20,000 Wasted Missiles

The National Interest via Real Clear Defense ^ | 12/07/2015 | Daniel L. Davis

[clearcarbon]

"I wonder if all the bombing of "non-targets" that we have been doing is on purpose so as to reduce our ability to get the job done when it really counts.

It would be hard for our President's successor to hurt our enemies if we have no ordnance to do it with. "

It's the liberal way.

"You go to war with the army you have--not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time." - Donald Rumsfield

Next time the armed forces needs this equipment, they won't have them again.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Are there any empty buildings left to bomb? Probably have to get USAID to help the local ISIS perps build some so they can be bombed anew!

[Psalm 144]

“how many did those 20,000 kill? Or were they dropped on empty vehicles and buildings?”

Yeah, I notice the Syrian Arab Army did not get the 45 minute courtesy warning to GTFO, as do ISIS’s truck drivers.

[Rockpile]

If sand dunes are dangerous then we have killed a lot of them.

[PIF]

Some 80% of missions dropped no bombs on target, but dumped them prior to landing - thus the high bomb count for a handful of sorties.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Bingo! The expensive precision guided munitions are used because we don't want to inflict any collateral damage. Time to switch to "dumb" weapons.

In WW II, the U.S. dropped the following bomb tonnage on Germany alone:

Assume an average bomb weighed 200 pounds. The U.S. alone dropped 6.2 MILLION bombs. At 500 pounds, it was 2.5 MILLION bombs. All largely dropped in TWO years, 1944 and 1945.

And the same United States is in danger today because we have used up 20,000 missiles and bombs?

It's laughable. Until you contemplate Obama's plan to cause the defeat of the U.S.

[SunkenCiv]

We don’t hold funerals for standoff missiles — that’s up to the survivors of the targets.

[Gene Eric]

The naive premise being the DoD is too stupid to properly manage its inventory.

[huldah1776]

Can’t say Petraeus didn’t learn anything from Nam, eh? He’s advising.

[Cvengr]

Part of the task force’ staff work is to coordinate target lists with ordnance lists.

When we keep using cruise missiles to destroy targets which should be targeted by grenades, we lose by attrition of ordnance.

[Cvengr]

There is also a lot to be said of the WWI interpretation of warfare.

War was defined as the art to influence the volition of one’s enemy to succomb to your will.

Our tactics and weaponry has advanced to allow pinpoint precision in targeting. In the Vietnam War, sortie after sortie was sent to try and destroy key bridges, which they kept missing. Today, we can hit the bridge with a multiplicity of weapons, but we aren’t focused on how to change the heart and minds of our adversaries, or simply to kill them off.

......and the enemy knows this as do those within our walls who are our political adversaries.