War on Terrorism Doomed?

["Sixhits"]

Posted without comment.

"A scathing report published by the Army War College criticises the US's handling of the "war on terrorism", accusing it of taking a detour into an unnecessary war in Iraq and pursuing an unrealistic quest against terrorism that may lead to US wars with nations posing no serious threat.

The report, by Professor Jeffrey Record, of the war college at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, warns that as a result of those mistakes, the US Army is "near breaking point"."


http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/12/1073877765351.html

[Cutter]

ok now i get it...you work for the dean campain don't you?

["Sixhits"]

Lol. No. Dean is rebuilding the Dems, but I worry if he can galvanize the populace.

[tasty]

I had to judge 9 rounds of a debate tournament last weekend where the topic was "resolved: the US is losing the war on terror". Needless to say, I am tired of the topic

[c| Spetsnaz.]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, War is conventional, Terrorism is very unconventional therefore a "War on Terrorism" is destined to fail. I seriously doubt the political culture and religious beliefs of a society can be altered by a foreign power.

[Brain]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, War is conventional, Terrorism is very unconventional therefore a "War on Terrorism" is destined to fail. I seriously doubt the political culture and religious beliefs of a society can be altered by a foreign power.

true. but war is an entity unto it's self. it changes, it adapts, it finds a way.  conventionality becomes irrelevant after a while because the single over riding goal in war is to win, and all your creative mental efforts are directed towards that goal.  as for a country's beliefs being altered. it can be done, although it takes a very long time to do so. examples would be the british colonization of the world in the early part of the 20th century, and berlin before the wall came down

[iblisajinn]

Posted without comment.

"A scathing report published by the Army War College criticises the US's handling of the "war on terrorism", accusing it of taking a detour into an unnecessary war in Iraq and pursuing an unrealistic quest against terrorism that may lead to US wars with nations posing no serious threat.

The report, by Professor Jeffrey Record, of the war college at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, warns that as a result of those mistakes, the US Army is "near breaking point"."


http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/12/1073877765351.html

This was a paper published by one of the faculty of the Army War College, an institutional designed to get students (generally senior American officers) to think critically about a variety of topics.  Contrary or critical analysis are a hallmark of a good educational instititution and surprisingly common in the US military.

Pick up a copy of the Marine Corps Gazette or other professional service journal - they feature numerous articles of what we're doing wrong, from ones criticizing the M16A4 and M249 to ones advocating reorganization of the Fleet Marine Force.

With regards to a "War on Terrorism" - I tend to think that name was used because it generally works (although is hard to define) - a "War on Terror" is silly - you might as well station soldiers in kids bedrooms to kill the monsters under the bed; a "War on Al-Qaeda and other radical Muslim terrorist groups" is a bit much; "War on Al-Qaeda" is too limited.