Let’s take that money and build a wall on our southern border.

A lot of that “dominate battlespace knowledge” theory that’s popular in the military right now I think is more focused on conventional threats. Insurgency, by it’s very nature, isn’t an inherently military problem and ultimately can’t be defeated militarily. However, information dominance theory does have application in situations like Iraq, and is one reason why we are buying predators as fast as they’re made. In that regard, we are doing better in Iraq. However, the main problem with information dominance in an insurgency environment is that the most critical information cannot be gained with sensors. It requires people interfacing with the local population which requires language and culture skills we don’t have enough of.

So, in the case of, say, China, information dominance is very useful. In Iraq, it still has some utility, but has obvious limitations.

Check out
Crack in the Foundation for a good argument that we are getting ahead of ourselves.

It is further assumed that information superiority will permit “dominant battlespace knowledge” or “the comprehensive awareness of all the decision-relevant elements within a defined battlespace, and the ability to predict, with a very high degree of confidence, near term enemy actions and combat outcomes.”

When objections are raised to this VERY optimistic assesment, the reply from hardcore advocates of NCW is akin to “future technological advances will make it a reality” and that we should begin to plan for that reality now. The result is that new officers are being trained to operate under this assumption (which can be made to hold true in wargames and excerises) and it is already morphing from the status of an ideal vision of the future into a vision of a current reality.

Interesting quote which points to a larger truth: In the cold war, our primary military problem was having enough firepower to defeat the large numbers of Soviet personnel and equipment. Finding and fixing targets were not the problem (it’s not hard to locate a Soviet tank division), destroying them was. Today, the situation is turned on its head. We have more firepower than we know what to do with, but we’re unable to find and fix targets. The military is adjusting to this new reality as quickly as the bureaucracy and Congress will allow by fielding more reconnaissance and developing intelligence to queue those recon and surveillance platforms to look at the right places at the right times. Such transformation is slow, though, because it’s not just about equipment, but also training, personnel and especially people’s mindsets and preconceptions.

Similarly, the UN is lumbering tool that is easily manipulated. As the superpower, like it or not, we are seen by the rest of the world and the UN as too powerful for our own good. Like the biggest, toughest guy on the playground, everyone wants to see us fall. Even our allies secretly (and not so secretly) want us brought down a notch. I think playground politics are an apt comparision. We are the big bully to many, the protector to some, but resented by all.

We are also in a declining cycle with the UN and much of the world. The UN/international community does nothing, or does not support us, so we “go it alone,” which breeds further resentment. The increased resentment results in less UN support in the future and more obstruction of our policy objectives. This naturally confirms to us the UN/international community is useless and increases the chance we will “go it alone.” The cycle repeats. This downward spiral could have serious negative consequences for us, but I don’t see any way to avoid it.

“At Operation ANACONDA in March 2002,an intensive pre-battle reconnaissance effort focused every available surveillance and target acquisition system on a tiny, ten-by-ten kilometer battlefield. Yet fewer than 50 percent of all the al Qaeda positions ultimately identified in the course of the fighting on this battlefield were discovered prior to ground contact. In fact,most fire received by U.S. forces in ANACONDA came from initially unseen, unanticipated al Qaeda fighting positions. How could such things happen in an era of persistent reconnaissance drones,airborne radars,satellite surveillance,thermal imaging,and hypersensitive electronic eavesdropping equipment? The answer is that the earth’s surface remains an extremely complex environment with an abundance of natural and manmade cover and concealment available for those militaries capable of exploiting it.”

After 5 years, and even more fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, our enemies have an even better understanding of how to exploit the vulnerabilties of our “light ground forces supported by precision weapons” approach.

Well, it’s time for them to grow up and realize that it’s all a fairy story, and that they don’t have the power to affect the world situation other than by fixing their own screwed up countries.

Sadly this is the response I have come to expect from people with overinflated notions of what the US has the power to achieve on its own.

In fact, the most likely reaction to such a proclimation would be an increase in their willingness to work together against us - only fools think that there isn’t a whole lot more room for it to get worse than it is already - and while we may be stronger than all of them individually we are NOT stronger than all of them put together.

Unfortunatly, that seems to be what is going to happen. Our mouths are going to write a check that our asses are going to balk at cashing once the true cost is known.

But, whatever, it all falls on deaf ears anyways. Its like Thucydides said (quoted, but obviously not understood, by Dan Simmons) - “So thoroughly had the present prosperity persuaded the Athenians that nothing could withstand them, and that they could achieve what was possible and what was impracticable alike, with means ample or inadequate it mattered not. The reason for this was their general extraordinary success, which made them confuse their strengths with their hopes.”

But, what the hell, this is all going to fall on deaf ears anyway. You want to believe and so you will believe, and you wont stop believing until its too damn late. God help this Country.

No it’s not. The United Numbskulls is so inept that it can’t really affect anything. Well, for the better, anyway. The UN is an empty lie.

>If we pull out, not only will our enemies now have uncontested control over the instituion

So what? When has the UN ever been able to do anything anyway? Never. It will be a place for idiots and wackos to gather and, well, pretend that they mean something.

>it will be a sign of disrespect to every other country, including our current allies, that feel the UN is their only avenue to effect the world situation.

Well, it’s time for them to grow up and realize that it’s all a fairy story, and that they don’t have the power to affect the world situation other than by fixing their own screwed up countries.