1364 Versus 1380 and Counting
By Larry Johnson
by
Larry C Johnson
During yesterday's thrashing of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld by members of the Senate and House, the Secretary sought refuge in the notion that we faced setbacks in World War II and we should take that into account in our current war of terrorism. REALLY? Try this on for size Mr. Secretary, the United States and its allies in WWII defeated the Third Reich, Italy, and Japan in 1364 days (that covers the period from 7 December 1941 until 2 September 1945 when Japan signed the surrender documents). By contrast we are 1380 days since the attacks on 9-11 (and counting). Unlike our grandparents who managed to defeat major Armies in multiple combat theatres, we still cannot find and finish Bin Laden. The insurgency in Iraq rages, and we cannot maintain our recruiting levels. The gap between delusional thinking (e.g., the insurgency is in its last throes) and ground truth is wide. Unfortunately US military forces in Iraq are in the untenable position of not having enough resources to complete the mission while being led by politicians unwilling to make tough, politically unpopular decisions.
What I really want to know is why this country at one time could defeat two of the most powerful military forces in the world simultaneously but today cannot control an insurgency led in part by remnants of a third rate military power. That's a trend line I don't like