The U.S. Military Betrayed
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 9 months ago
Under the simple-minded President George W. Bush and the feckless President Barack Obama, as well as the peacetime generals whose conduct of the war will live in infamy, the U.S. military has been subjected to the greatest humiliation in its long and storied history.
It should have been asked to finish—decisively, quickly, and definitively, just as British Gen. Herbert Kitchener crushed the Mahdist forces at Omdurman in 1898—the conflict that began on 9/11; instead it has been turned into an instrument of “social justice,” a meals-on-wheels, three-cups-of-tea aggregation of sitting ducks, one held in open, murderous contempt by an armed rabble of primitive, superstitious, dog-hating goatherds.
Yep. That sounds about right. I had suggested that they drop Marines and Rangers at the border with Pakistan and let the Northern Alliance drive them to their deaths as they tried to cross the border, putting them in a pincer. Then they could have put the Northern Alliance in charge and left.
Instead, they wanted anti-American Pashtuns in charge, and tried to test out their “three cups of tea” social workers with guns counterinsurgency bullshit. And American boys perished for it.
And don’t even get me started on Iraq, or how they let the lawyers fight Americans as the Americans tried to stay alive. There will be many men who stand before God and answer for the deaths of Americans on fields of battle in foreign misadventures.
On February 21, 2020 at 12:03 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Herschel
Noted military theorist and historian William Lind has written that excellence in the tactical and operational military arts cannot overcome a flawed grand strategy. The two most-commonly cited examples for this are Nazi Germany in the Second World War, and the U.S. and her allies in Vietnam.
Many military historians rate the German Army (Heer) of the Second World War as being without peer in terms of its grasp of the tactical and operational levels of war. Man-to-man, the German soldier consistently inflicted disproportionate casualties upon the Allied troops he faced, whether Anglo-American or Soviet.
Whether contested upon land, on/under the seas or in the skies, the German warrior proved extremely difficult to defeat. To provide one example, the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) produced not one but two fighter aces (or “Experten” as they were called) who scored more than 300 confirmed air-to-air victories, namely Eric Hartmann with 352 kills, and Gerhard Barkhorn with 301.
In contrast, no Allied ace – whether Soviet or Anglo-American or other – could claim 80 confirmed victories. The closest was Russian ace Ivan Kozhedub, with 66 confirmed kills. The highest-scoring American ace was Major Richard Bong, with 40 kills to his credit, whereas the top British-Commonwealth fighter pilot was South African Marmaduke “Pat” Pattle, also with forty, with James Edward “Jonnie” Johnson with 38.
Now, there are many factors beyond the scope of this discussion which led to this disparity, but the overarching point is that all of this excellence in shooting down Allied planes, knocking out Allied tanks, sinking Allied shipping, etc. did not lead to victory in the war. Why? Because Germany’s grand strategy was too badly flawed to be compensated for by excellence at the operational and tactical levels.
Perhaps the ultimate betrayal of the U.S. fighting man has been the utter failure of his leaders, political and military alike, to formulate a cohesive grand strategy, one grounded in reality and which properly identifies our nation’s enemies and how best to defeat them.
With reference to the 9-11-2001 attacks, the whole undertaking of the so-called “global war on terror” was badly-flawed from the start, as it did not include an accurate appraisal of our nation’s enemies, nor did it outline a coherent grand strategy for defeating them.
Almost twenty years, our leaders can’t even bring themselves to name the enemy properly – or even admit that we are fighting him. A conspiracy of silence has surrounded this enemy whose name cannot even be said publicly. In some European nations, speaking badly of these particular people can land one in prison.
I am referring, of course, to the Islamic world and the Muslims within it who have been waging jihad against non-Muslims for nearly 1,500 years.
The Muslims themselves, if you read/listen to what their imams and leaders say, are quite open about their cause, what they are doing, why and to whom. They are waging jihad – Arabic for “holy war” – against the infidels and kafirs, just as Mohammed himself commanded, and as the Koran, Hadiths and Sira command.
European civilization (what was once called Christendom), however, including the U.S., bends over backwards to avoid even the suggestion that this conflict exists and has existed for more than a millennium.
Leon Trotsky once said famously, “You may not be interested in war,but war is interested in you!” That statement can be paraphrased to apply to the present conflict: “You may not be interested in jihad, but jihad is interested in you.”
We refuse even to acknowledge that we are at war, whereas our enemies, the soldiers of Allah, have no such hesitations, doubts or the like. They know who they are fighting, why and to what end.
How can you win a war you refuse even to admit you are fighting? The answer is that it cannot be done. Which is one of the reasons why the non-Muslim world is losing this struggle so badly at the present time.
As Raymond Ibrahim writes in his superb book, “Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War Between Islam and the West,” the soldiers of Allah have unsheathed their swords – their scimitars – and are ready to do battle – but the West refuses even to draw its sword.
As bad as this all seems, there is more bad news: A substantial portion of the ruling class of the West (by that term I am referring to the non-Muslim first-world nations, and simply European/Christian civilization) have become 21st-century Quislings and now aid and abet our ancient and most-implacable enemies.
A substantial number of the globalists at the European Union and elsewhere appear to have reached some sort of modus vivendi or accommodation with the Muslims and Islam – and are now collaborating with them. I am referring to figures such as Pope Francis, Angela Merkel of Germany, Emmanuel Macron of France, Teresa May of Great Britain, billionaire George Soros, and EU President Jean-Claude Juncker. And their enablers and allies, wherever they are found.
Lest Americans think they get off lightly, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all avoided the issue entirely, prevaricated when asked, or flat-out lied about the nature and intentions of our enemies. But then, telling the truth about Islam and the West would require our ruling class to “kick” its heroin-like habit of borrowing money from the Sunni Arabs, wouldn’t it? It would also end the petrodollar, too – and neither of these things stands much chance of happening as things now stand. The Arabs have bought plenty of people inside the halls of power of our government, and those they don’t own outright, they can lobby effectively.
The “Great Replacement” – i.e., great demographic replacement -now underway throughout the West, whereby native peoples and their nations are being replaced by the diaspora of the Third World (imported by the western ruling class), can continue to trade ground (space) for time only for so long before they face an existential choice – either fight for self-preservation, or lose their birthright to those who mean to rule them.
On February 21, 2020 at 12:13 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Georgiaboy,
Yes to all of that. And I hate those who hate dogs.
On February 21, 2020 at 12:34 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
(Part 2)
As far as the U.S. military is concerned, consider the following question: Why has the U.S. fought so many wars and interventions in the greater Middle East and environs over the last forty years, when it had seldom if ever done so before?
The answer lies in the petrodollar agreement,which was arrived at in the early 1970s in the wake of the collapse of the Bretton Woods economic agreement. In brief, the Nixon administration, chaffing under the spending restraints necessitated by the remaining ties of the USD (U.S. dollar) to the gold standard, severed the last remaining link between the paper (fiat) dollar and gold.
If the USD was not to be backed by gold any longer, what would back it? The answer, the central bankers and diplomats answered, was oil. After a period of intense negotiation, the Nixon administration and the OPEC nations – led by Saudi Arabia – concluded an agreement which has since become known as the petrodollar agreement, whereby the Sunni Arab oil monarchies agreed to transact OPEC’s business only in US dollars, and then “recycle” the bulk of those revenues through U.S. central banks and the federal government proper in the form of purchases of Treasury Bills and other securities.
The catch, however, was that the U.S. was henceforth obligated to defend the Saudi Arabian kingdom and its Arab allies from all threats, foreign or domestic.
The old saying says, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer…”
At the stroke of a pen, and at the cost of a few billion dollars (which they could spare), the Arabs effectively seized control over the entire U.S. foreign policy apparatus – including the most-powerful military in the world at the time – simply by reading the weakness of the federal government: it’s insatiable appetite for revenue, and proclivity for using debt to fund its its operations.
Like a drug pusher who discounts his product, or even gives it away for free, in order to hook-in new “clients” – new addicts – the Arabs addicted the U.S. federal government to the easy money they would provide. And in so doing, got a hand on the tiller of our foreign policy.
If the Saudi King called the White House and said “Jump!,” whoever was President would have to ask “How high?” and then do it – or risk having all of that easy money and the petrodollar system disappear.
The Arabs have an extremely well-funded and powerful lobbying presence in Washington D.C., and now – since Riyadh and Tel Aviv are now strategic partners, the sizeable Israeli influence can added in as well.
In recent months and years, the near-constant drumbeat of war drums in Washington for us to go to war against Russia, Iran, or Syria, has grown not only out of the imperatives of our foreign policy establishment, but out of those of the Arabs and Israelis as well, both of whom regard Shiite Iran as a mortal threat, and would much rather the blood of American boys be spilled to solve the problem, than the blood of their own sons.
So, to return to the problem of our flawed grand strategy, our situation is badly out-of-kilter. Not only do we the people of this nation not have a coherent and workable grand strategy that serves our genuine strategic interests, we do not even have control of our own foreign policy establishment or our own military!
Like a drunk entering alcohol rehab or a drug addict going into a program to kick his habit, it is going to be painful for the U.S. – especially the federal government – to kick its addiction to the petrodollar and all that easy credit from the Middle East – but it has to be done if the nation is ever to regain control of its own affairs, as the Founders intended. Nor can our deeply-flawed grand strategy be fixed without removing those foreign hands now steering the path of our foreign policy.
On February 21, 2020 at 12:36 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Herschel
Me, too, I hate those who hate dogs….
On February 21, 2020 at 12:45 am, Herschel Smith said:
With the massive oil supplies discovered in the Permian reserve along with Alaska, it would seem ludicrous to continue to rely on the ME for oil. Drug addiction indeed. Besides, nuclear + electric would seem to be a complete substitute for all of that. I know that because I’m a nuclear engineer.
And don’t get me started on Uranium 1 and Clinton + Putin.
On February 21, 2020 at 11:09 am, MTHead said:
Beware the military industrial complex? And, have noticed a pattern of long protracted wars in the finest opium growing regions of the world?
Ever notice that Los Zetas was trained by the CIA. Then decided to become a drug cartel? On the east coast of Mexico? So many coincidences Occam’s razor isn’t even necessary. So demonic most humans can’t grasp it.
On February 21, 2020 at 11:21 am, Frank Clarke said:
Let us speak plainly about the Middle East and idiots, among whom are many who think we’re doing great things there.
Pigs will not simply fly… pigs will win dogfights against F-16s before anything in the Middle East (Israel excepted) resembles what any sane person would describe as “a functioning 21st-century nation”.
Anyone who tells you that we will enlighten The Islamic World and bring them current is an idiot.
If they don’t themselves believe what they’re telling you, they think you’re the idiot.
If you believe them, you are.
Islam as an ideology is most comfortable in a medieval-or-earlier culture and technology. Left to their own devices, any ‘modern’ Islamic state would pretty quickly devolve to exactly that: feudalism or something akin to the Dark Ages. Saudi Arabia can get rich on oil only because of two things:
1. some technologically modern nation taught them how to drill for oil
2. several oil-dependent modern nations buy their oil
Saudi Arabia is a military power only because they can spend oil money buying equipment they simply could not develop on their own. If everyone stops selling Middle Eastern countries things they can kill with, peace (in a manner of speaking) will settle upon the land.
There is absolutely no reason for the U.S. to have a troop presence there, and many, many reasons for us to withdraw and never return.
Absent a thoroughgoing welfare state, there would be no appreciable Muslim population in any Western country.
On February 21, 2020 at 11:42 am, Fred said:
@Herschel, but then, why are we in the ME?
On February 21, 2020 at 12:05 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Complex question Fred. Different places for different reasons I think.
Small presence in Iraq because no one wants to squander the blood of American boys by giving it completely over to Iran.
Small presence in Yemen by SOF and SF and contractors and CIA in order to fight Saudi Arabia’s fight for them, under the guise of the GWOT. Unnecessary alignment with SA for oil. Replace oil with nuclear.
Small CIA and SF presence in Libya because the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton Global Initiative, deep state, General Petraeus, John McCain and Lindsey Graham wanted to collapse North Africa for the purpose of oil, gems, etc., etc. CIA money-making scam.
No, I don’t think it all has to do with Israel or even any of it. The issues run far deeper and more corrupt than that. Money, money, money. Always follow the money.
Oil corporate executives control a lot of things.
On February 21, 2020 at 2:02 pm, penses said:
The elite’s quest for an overseas empire is insatiable.
The War of 1812 was an attempt to conquer Canada. Before the Civil War Southern politicians wanted to invade Mexico, Central America and Cuba. Between the world wars that plan was carried out with military incursions into Central America and the Caribbian through regeme change to provide American Corporations with a “friendly” environment. The Panama Canal was built on land stolen from Columbia.
The sinking of the Maine [could have been a boiler explosion or a black flag] in Havana was just the beginning of an overseas hegemony that would rival the British Empire. There are plenty of books in print about numerous atrocities committed by the US military in Cuba and the Philippines. Wounded Knees too numerous to mention here. An Empire does not require troops it hires mercs. As soon as the Roman Republic made the legionnaires full time soldiers and started paying them a salary [salt] the Republic was doomed. The same thing happened to the USA when the draft was put on hiatus and the ALL NEW AMERICAN VOLUNTEER MILITARY was created. Bribes like higher pay, education benefits, etc. And then they end up dying while waiting in line at the VA Hospital [mortuary].
There are US mercs in every country on the African continent except South Africa. They are in the ME to protect corporate interests and Big Pharma’s poppy fields. And the PC military is having a hard time finding volunteers. Americans are getting wise to the the Empire building and are not signing up to be cannon fodder for the deep state. Therefore standards are being lowered along with IQ levels and any patriotic loyalty. In the ME the military has hired private contractors and foreign soldiers to “police and defend” areas to keep the mercs casualty list numbers low.
Just one example of the converged military that should shock any patriot to his very soul is the Air Force’s decision to allow uniformed members to wear turbans, hijabs, and beards. I don’t think George Washington would go along with that.
If it were an American Army it would be on the Mexican border protecting the country. But with NAFTA and GATT there is noting to protect. Manufacturing has gone overseas and that is where the elites interests are, not the USA, because they do not see people just profits. And last but not least a country has borders. An empire does not because it it either growing or collapsing. There is no stasis in its rulers dictionary. And as long as the empires lasts its leaders, to the very last, will accept no limits. As we speak there are threats and intimidation tactics directed at Russia, China, Iran and any one else that threatens the empire’s supremacy.
And never forget…every empire comes home. Kent State, Waco and Wounded Knee are examples of homegrown good ole boys doing the shooting and is just a taste of what is to come. Those foreigners that are filling the ranks today will have less compunction than the home grown shooters to turn their guns on Americans.
Keep your ammo dry.
On February 21, 2020 at 4:48 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ penses
False-flag ops are an extremely common means of starting wars when the deep-state wants them. Most people believe that events happen in the order of someone starting a war, and then the decision to go to war taking place afterwards, but in many – perhaps even most – wars, the train of events is reversed. Someone powerful (or a collection of powerful someone’s) somewhere has decided he wants war, and so a pretext for waging it must be found. If a suitable pretext can’t be found, it can be manufactured. Intelligence agencies have been doing it for a very long time.
The Spanish-American War (April, 1898-August 1898) is considered by most scholars to be the start of America’s ascent to great -and ultimately world – power status. For some time prior to 1898, the U.S. ruling class – the “American aristocracy” – had been eyeing the Spanish Empire and its possessions. Spain was weakening and bankrupt, and the mandarins in Washington, D.C. saw an opportunity in Cuba, which was in the throes of revolution.
With tensions rising in Cuba, newspaper owner and business tycoon William Randolph Hearst sent famed artist Frederick Remington to Cuba, with instructions saying, “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” Remington went,and to his credit, cabled back in January 1897, “Everything is quiet.”
However, Hearst wouldn’t have long to wait: In February 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine – anchored in Havana Harbor as a show of U.S. power – blew up while riding at anchor. Hearst and other “yellow journalists” quickly seized upon the incidence as a casus belli, blaming a Spanish naval mine in the harbor for the explosion, even though no investigation had yet been conducted into the sinking.
And with that, the war with Spain began.
Years later, several investigations took place, both official and unofficial. Today, it is believed that the U.S.S. Maine exploded not because of a mine, but because of a design flaw which placed her powder magazines too-close to her boiler room. Her powder magazine had been ignited by a fire in her coal bunker.
The Tonkin Gulf Incident marked the upswing of U.S. involvement in SE Asia; many observers and historians now believe this incident to have been at least partly-fabricated and/or exaggerated, in order to provide the Johnson Administration plausible cover for escalating the war in Vietnam.
Nazi Germany invaded Poland – thereby starting the war in Europe on September 1, 1939, on the basis of the false-flag – the so-called Gleiwitz Operation, carried out by the SS-Gestapo. The operation was uncovered because of testimony at the Nuremberg Trials by SS Major (Sturmbannführer) Alfred Nujocks, who had taken part in its implementation.
In the present, the oligarchs – the ruling class of the West – want to intervene in Syria very badly, and have for some years now. To that end, a string of false-flag ops has been carried out in an attempt to frame the Assad government for so-called atrocities actually carried out by foreign operatives. These have taken the form of chemical weapons incidents, typically, in which Syrian civilians are killed.
In April, 2017, western news agencies and other sources reported a chemical weapons attack near the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, about fifty miles south of Idlib, in which it is alleged that 58 Syrians lost their lives because of Sarin nerve gas munitions deployed by the Assad government. The usual littany of deep-state media/propaganda operations spring into action to spin-up the story – the BBC, CNN, AP, etc. – for maximum effect.
Impartial observers, however, began noticing irregularities in the “official” narrative, and began unraveling it. So-called “white helmets” – personnel on the ground in the region, funded by the U.S.& U.K. – were on the scene, snapping photos well-before it would have been safe or free from traces of Sarin. These personnel are known to be in the employ of the U.S.-U.K. intelligence apparatus.
Like an incident in 2014 which preceded it, the trial of evidence collected by outside/impartial investigators led not to the Assad regime – which had much to lose and little to gain by launching such an attack – but back to western intelligence agencies and their proxies.
The Turkish intelligence service was caught red-handed conducting one of these false-flag chemical weapons operations, and one of their officers even admitted to staging the incident.With a shrug of his shoulders, he said that “sometimes, operations of this kind work, sometimes they do not…”
Notice the complete lack of moral scruples at the killing of innocent people for their ends. The kinds of people who concoct and carry out these operations are capable of anything, up to and including mass murder.
On February 21, 2020 at 7:00 pm, penses said:
Georgiaboy61 said: “Notice the complete lack of moral scruples at the killing of innocent people for their ends. The kinds of people who concoct and carry out these operations are capable of anything, up to and including mass murder.”
Secrecy is their highest priority.
And just like their Soviet counterparts the deep state wants to do all the decision making in secret making it look like they are a unified front. It won’t be long before the national DNC will start doing this, eventually silencing opposition vocal or otherwise with bullets.
Seth Rich was assassinated for outing the corrupt DNC and the DC police called it a robbery. Except for his watch and his wallet. Some robbery
Star chambers and secret tribunals are on the menu.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/here-we-go-nevada-democrat-party-asks-caucus-volunteers-to-sign-confidentiality-agreements-that-would-prevent-them-from-speaking-to-the-media/
On February 21, 2020 at 7:16 pm, penses said:
OT but good for a laugh. Bloomberg has been outed by Warren. Three NDAs and probably more on the way. “Crucified” by a total sham of a woman
“After getting crucified by Liz Warren during the Nevada debate over the question of how many NDAs he has given (and why) to various women over the years, Mike Bloomberg – who apparently is far less witty and impressive when he doesn’t have an army of consultants whispering the right answer in his ear – has decided that the best way to respond to the scathing attack which he clearly still has not gotten over, is by conceding.
“In a report published late on Friday by Bloomberg LP/News (the news organization), “Mini” Michael Bloomberg said that he is now willing to release women from three non-disclosure agreements related to offensive comments they say he made – after refusing to do so at Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate.”
Cannibalism is always on the left’s menu. They always eat their own.
On February 21, 2020 at 7:29 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ penses
Re: “Secrecy is their highest priority.”
The abuse and misuse of national security statutes and top-secret classification to hide simple crime, corruption and malfeasance – runs rampant inside our government,especially at the federal level.
Worse, the enticing combination of vast power and secrecy found therein have proved to be a potent attractant for the very worst kinds of people. Ranging from garden-variety crooks, swindlers and grifters of every stripe, to outright sociopaths and psychopaths.
Which is why the upper reaches of the federal government/deep-state, the senior executive service included (as per Matt Bracken), in such agencies as the FBI, CIA, IRS and DOJ have come to resemble an extremely powerful crime syndicate rather than the functioning apparatus of a lawfully-constituted government.
Re: “Seth Rich was assassinated for outing the corrupt DNC and the DC police called it a robbery. Except for his watch and his wallet. Some robbery….Star chambers and secret tribunals are on the menu.”
The Clintons have been leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them for years, without any untoward consequences of which I am aware. The Kennedy dynasty before them as well. Obama bragged openly about using his drones and his pen, and no one seemed too upset about it.
Here in the ‘States, we are somewhat behind other western nations, and retain at least some of our residual liberties. In Canada, those “star chamber” proceedings of which you spoke are a reality, and have been for some time now. It’s been a decade or more since Mark Steyn was dragged into front of one of those “human rights” tribunals and made to fight for his professional life. He was cleared, but not before draining his bank account and suffering considerable damage to his good name and career. Steyn, reading the tea leaves, departed Canada, the nation of his birth and now resides in New Hampshire.
His “crime”? The Canadian magazine “Maclean’s” had serialized portions of Steyn’s hit book, “America Alone,” whereupon the Canadian Islamic Congress lodged a human rights complaint with the Canadian government, accusing the author of “Islamophobia” and racial bigotry (I dont know how the latter gained any currency, because Islam isn’t a race) and similar thought-crimes.
Over in Europe, the heroic Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has been hounded for well over a decade by similar charges, and now he and his family have to live under 24-hour police protection because of threats made against him by outraged Muslims. Wilders’ book was “Marked for Death: Islam’s War Against the West and Me.”
Canada and Europe foretell the kind of society our would-be lords and masters are planning for us. One in which the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights have been effectively abolished, and in which one can be arrested and charged merely for expressing (or even having) the wrong opinions.
Re: NDAs and confidentiality agreements, just saw in the news on the internet that Bloomberg uses them with his people. Why, goodness, you’d think they have something to hide over there in the Democrat Party! ; )
On February 22, 2020 at 12:52 pm, penses said:
Killed by the same assassins that took out Seth Rich and JFK. Banana Republic
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/02/dhs-whistleblower-against-obama-administration-found-dead-shot-and-killed/
On February 23, 2020 at 9:49 am, penses said:
Only a Marine would have the guts to do this.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/where-have-you-gone-smedley-butler-last-general-criticize-us-imperialism
On February 23, 2020 at 10:02 am, penses said:
penses said:
“The elite’s quest for an overseas empire is insatiable.”
Here it is in all of its “glory” for everyone’s edification.
https://www.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/Air_and_Space_MajGenMcDew-Compatibility-Mode.jpg?itok=ulebiyux
On February 23, 2020 at 10:12 am, penses said:
The deep state’s plan to “blow up” the ME.
“The official, albeit not publicly assumed, objective of the U.S. General Staff: to blow up the borders of the Middle East, to destroy both enemy and friendly states, to practice ethnic cleansing.” It has never been about “nation building” but what is best for corporate America.
https://www.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/new-middle-east.jpg?itok=nsUGheLD
On February 23, 2020 at 1:31 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@Penses,
No more warnings. It takes band width, page loading time, and memory to host URLs. These are all things I pay for out of pocket. I do not make a single penny with this blog. I spend what little money I have to support it.
[1] Put your remarks into a single comment rather than many, many comments, and
[2] NO MORE URLs unless I request them.