How the Inability of Modern Formal Militaries to Change has Emboldened the Enemy
DL Ennis
August 08, 2006
How is it that the greatest military in the world cannot defeat insurgents in Iraq? How is it that the intense bombardment of Lebanon, by Israel, and the insertion of thousands of ground troops, has made little progress against Hezbollah?
Now another question: How is it that, for the most part, farmers and craftsmen defeated the most powerful military of the time during the American Revolution?
The answers to these questions are one in the same; our modern militaries are unwilling to change to meet the enemy on their own terms or better as were the British during the American Revolution.
During the American Revolution the farmers and craftsmen that I spoke of were also hunters, they had to be to help supplement their food supply to feed their families. As hunters they knew that they would not have much chance of harvesting wild game if they didn’t hide. Thus when the British Army came marching along in uniform and formation beating their drums and blowing their fifes, the farmers and craftsmen, experienced hunters were hiding in the brush to ambush the British giving them the upper hand on a more experienced and powerful military.
What I am getting at here is our militaries need to adapt to modern tactics. What we are doing now is the equivalent of the British during the American Revolution; our soldiers might as well be wearing florescent orange hunting vest with bull’s-eyes on them!
This kind of tactic is really futile against the extremist factions who can become invisible at any time. When in the field our militaries need to be able to blend in as much as possible. This would allow for fewer troops in a given area at one time, and a higher success rate as opposed to going in full military garb with guns blazing.
We need to be fighting the enemy on their level. One of our problems is that the enemy can blend in with the civilian population and they fight from within these populations. If we are bombing the hell out of them civilian casualties will naturally be higher. We must blend and move with caution to learn to distinguish between the extremist and the innocent civilian populous.
These terrorist, or what ever you prefer to call them, do not fight by any morel rules of a formal army and they never will and neither can we in this kind of war. They do not cave in to the concerns of those who dare to dream that our world can live in peace and we have to stop giving in to them too. The only viable option is to stay out of fighting for right and quit sending our troops in to be murdered and with no hope of success.
This from the Washington Post:
Late last week while guarding a house in southern Lebanon that Israeli forces were using as a command post, Cpl. Matan Tyler received an unusual order from his commander: Watch out for guys wearing Israeli uniforms.
A day earlier, a nearby regiment had been approached by fighters wearing familiar olive shirts and vests with Hebrew writing, Tyler said he was told. The fighters -- Hezbollah militiamen disguised as Israelis -- opened fire on a house full of Israeli soldiers.
As in Iraq were we have accomplished very little that can be seen as good, I am afraid that Israel’s results will be very similar. These results only serve to embolden the enemy and give them a feeling of power and a will to continue their fight.
Bottom line, our armies need to change to have success in the war on terror! We need to adapt to the enemies slippery tactics. They don’t play be the rules, and to have true success, we too need to through the rule book out the window.
Now another question: How is it that, for the most part, farmers and craftsmen defeated the most powerful military of the time during the American Revolution?
The answers to these questions are one in the same; our modern militaries are unwilling to change to meet the enemy on their own terms or better as were the British during the American Revolution.
During the American Revolution the farmers and craftsmen that I spoke of were also hunters, they had to be to help supplement their food supply to feed their families. As hunters they knew that they would not have much chance of harvesting wild game if they didn’t hide. Thus when the British Army came marching along in uniform and formation beating their drums and blowing their fifes, the farmers and craftsmen, experienced hunters were hiding in the brush to ambush the British giving them the upper hand on a more experienced and powerful military.
What I am getting at here is our militaries need to adapt to modern tactics. What we are doing now is the equivalent of the British during the American Revolution; our soldiers might as well be wearing florescent orange hunting vest with bull’s-eyes on them!
This kind of tactic is really futile against the extremist factions who can become invisible at any time. When in the field our militaries need to be able to blend in as much as possible. This would allow for fewer troops in a given area at one time, and a higher success rate as opposed to going in full military garb with guns blazing.
We need to be fighting the enemy on their level. One of our problems is that the enemy can blend in with the civilian population and they fight from within these populations. If we are bombing the hell out of them civilian casualties will naturally be higher. We must blend and move with caution to learn to distinguish between the extremist and the innocent civilian populous.
These terrorist, or what ever you prefer to call them, do not fight by any morel rules of a formal army and they never will and neither can we in this kind of war. They do not cave in to the concerns of those who dare to dream that our world can live in peace and we have to stop giving in to them too. The only viable option is to stay out of fighting for right and quit sending our troops in to be murdered and with no hope of success.
This from the Washington Post:
Late last week while guarding a house in southern Lebanon that Israeli forces were using as a command post, Cpl. Matan Tyler received an unusual order from his commander: Watch out for guys wearing Israeli uniforms.
A day earlier, a nearby regiment had been approached by fighters wearing familiar olive shirts and vests with Hebrew writing, Tyler said he was told. The fighters -- Hezbollah militiamen disguised as Israelis -- opened fire on a house full of Israeli soldiers.
As in Iraq were we have accomplished very little that can be seen as good, I am afraid that Israel’s results will be very similar. These results only serve to embolden the enemy and give them a feeling of power and a will to continue their fight.
Bottom line, our armies need to change to have success in the war on terror! We need to adapt to the enemies slippery tactics. They don’t play be the rules, and to have true success, we too need to through the rule book out the window.
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