The President’s Speech and America’s Image

Obama, “..the fact is that our intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, no matter how effective they are, cannot identify every would-be mass shooter, whether that individual was motivated by ISIL or some other hateful ideology.”

This is a true statement. How about we recognize that armed Americans might be able to defend themselves and the police can confirm the facts later, like they do now, only then maybe, there might be less good people dead and more bad people dead.

Obama, “What we can do, and must do, is make it harder for them to kill.”

That is a statement right out of the Force Protection manual. Make it harder for them to kill. The President means to limit guns, but is it not also a fact that being armed, and knowing how to use your firearm, makes you harder to be killed? I know it does.

He goes after Congress because he passed off on them using a serious guard house lawyer tactic. In the past, the President, I.E. Commander in Chief, decided that force needs to be used in the best interest of the Nation and goes to Congress after he orders ass to be kicked. This time, Obama looks a bit like Oliver, “please can I have some more” while gleefully smirking as he asked a fully divided partisan Congress to agree on something. He does not want a “war” on his memoirs and the best way to pretend to do his job and not get one is to pass the buck.

He can use SOF and airstrikes by hiding his actions behind the authorization back to 9/11 but the reality is we are bombing Syria for a new enemy. That is war even when you don’t want to call it one. The dynamics changed because a new organization sprang up.

He believes that the Islamic State wants a ground war. Obama believes that if we commit forces on the ground (SOF have no feet and aircraft fly so they are not on the ground) it will play into their hands. I believe they want one because they know he won’t give them one and every day he doesn’t they win. They also believe they can defeat us. I know they cannot but that is because I have been to war, Obama has not.

Will this turn into a decade long insurgency? It might. But Iraq and Afghanistan have two major errors in how they were fought. One, we tried to nation build while we were still fighting and we tried to partner with the people of the area without any means to enforce cooperation. The corruption and incompetence of the Iraqi political and military leadership was so toxic that nothing good was every going to come of it let alone a self sustaining democratic government thus, a decade long insurgency.

In the end it is going to come down to lives lost. Where that happens then becomes critical. I would rather it be there than here.

Let it become a jihad that draws in forces and new recruits. It will turn the area into a black hole that devours the radical members of Islam. Yes our forces will be at risk. What Obama fails to understand is that this is only the beginning. He dreams of limiting something that has no limit.

If radical Islam is only 1% of all Islam, that is still over a million fanatics who might be willing to continue attacks elsewhere. Right now America looks weak because we continue to make pathetic attempts to strike leadership targets and fuel trucks while arguing amongst ourselves about how to progress.

Look at it from al-Baghdadi’s point of view. Every day he survives a bombing he can beat his chest and show his fighters how he has managed to defeat American aims to kill him. He does not have to think in terms of an invasion of American soil, all he has to do is survive which will bring him new recruits from around the globe. Some of those will already be on American soil and will attack because they want to show their leader that they are good fighters for his cause, the longer he his strong, the more who will flock to his banner.

The first question you have to ask is what does the Islamic State consider a victory when dealing with America? They know they cannot hope to stand against us in the open. Insurgency is about attacking from the shadows. Victory is striking a blow and surviving.

The Islamic State is not exactly going to take over America in 2015. They don’t have to. All they have to do is survive one more day. Each day is a victory because a tiny enemy has managed to thwart a tremendous opponent. From their point of view, they are David and we are Goliath.

Obama defends the Muslim community multiple times in his speech. Part of this is diplomacy and I cannot say he is wrong. It is a bit much to claim we are at war with Islam. However, this is why I would advocate allowing the victory of accepting the nationhood of the Islamic State. Then we can declare an enemy separate from Islam. Right now, we are playing games with semantics. Let them have nationhood, which is a victory, and then crush them with it. So long as they are a nation remembered only in history, who cares?

The image the world sees is one of weakness and failed resolve. Yes we have ponderous might in our armed forces. We can smash anyone we care to name if we are willing to accept the cost. And that is the key. Our willingness to accept the cost is our weakness in the eyes of our enemies. They know they can sting us as many times as they want to so long as they don’t push too hard.

The world saw our reaction to Pearl Harbor and whether or not the quote “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve” was made by Isoroku Yamamoto or not the sentiment is exactly on point. The world witnessed again after 9/11 how far America is willing to go when provoked.

Our enemy is crafty and cunning. They know that they cannot attack and deliver a killing blow. What the President does not realize is this is a knife fight. In a knife fight, you don’t deliver a single fatal blow in the opening rounds. You cut your opponent, you bleed them, and you let them weaken as their blood pools upon the ground.

The image the world sees, a fierce warrior, bleeding from a thousand cuts. Only time will tell which cut will allow the final blow.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/12/obama-isis-speech-terrorism/419055/

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