We as a nation seem to have evolved into a mindset that our military should be used as a ” police force” for any problems that seem to arise around the world. Our military was conceived as defenders of our freedom and our homeland, not a police force or diplomatic tool of politics.
History shows us that since World War II we have not fought any military action with the intention of winning it. We seem to want to fight only until some other nation, some political group, or the United Nations decides a truce is called for, then we leave completely, or become the proverbial police force only until the enemy recovers; then we must again send our troops to deal with them. There is never a defeat of our enemies, only a lull while they regain enough strength to start again.
The stark truth of the matter is that the military, when called to action, has only two functions; to defeat and annihilate the enemy by combat,( which means killing the enemy combatants), or to destroy the resources and leadership of the enemy by death or destruction to the point they are never able to threaten us again.
We cannot continue to threaten to use our military, our young servicemen and women, as a police force for countries that hate us to begin with. Somewhere we have lost the moral compass when deciding to put these young people in harm’s way. If Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us nothing else, they have taught us we cannot fight as policeman – we must learn to either fight wars to WIN them, or stay out of them.
It is easy for some congressmen and women, and perhaps even our Commander-in-Chief, to look at these young people not as individuals but as a unit of the military. These are young people who sought duty and love of country over personal gain and deserve better.
In conclusion, we must learn we cannot unleash the dogs of war unless we are ready, willing, and able to finish what we start, we cannot serve as policeman or hall monitors for every foreign country that has internal strife. If we are going to fight a war let us all consider the cost, and when we have, and we engage in conflict, let us use ALL our resources to support our military until our enemy is vanquished, least we become the toothless dragon that breathes no fire in the world, as we seem to be fast becoming today.
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