As the United States continues to battle terrorism on multiple fronts, our staff has compiled the top three mistakes that we continually make as a nation, regardless of the environment and which political party is in office. While none of these conflicts are simple matters, if we are going to place our brave men and women in danger, we only ask that we evolve and learn from our mistakes.
- CONTINUITY
- If we feel so compelled as to interdict a situation or forcibly remove an evil government from power, we must do so with a long term plan in place and execute said plan regardless of which party is in office. The modus operandi for U.S. operations has become strike fast and execute the mission well, but then grow tired and exit prematurely – typically due to political pressure. Most warfighters and intelligence officers will tell you that our current mindset only creates more problems and ensures that our men and women will have to return at a later date to finish what should have been done in the first place. We have the best military and intelligence services in the world, let them do their jobs.
- NATION BUILDING
- Please do not confuse our above point with the need to fall prey to nation building and the costs and frustrations associated with it. This particularly rings true in the Middle East, but applies everywhere. The United States is not going to fundamentally change the political and spiritual beliefs of any country in the Middle East and we are fools to continue to try. Still, far too often (always) we dump billions of dollars and personnel resources into trying to stabilize a location while force feeding them with democratic values that will never work. The plan needs to involve long term commitments on both the military and diplomatic side of the coin, but outside of further developing military and intelligence services and their capabilities, no further development needs to occur. We as a nation need capable and reliable partners to work with and additional locations where U.S. operations can launch. This can be achieved without establishing new election protocols, meddling with political formats and funding their entire government system.
- AIDING EVIL EMPIRES
- For the love of God, can we please stop funding states that use said money to kill Americans? Pakistan and Turkey are among the best examples of nations that receive large portions of aid from the U.S. government, despite the fact that we have dead-to-rights evidence that they underhandedly provide assistance and tips to our enemies, and then turn around and use it against us. In the case of Pakistan, the military and intelligence services, whom we assist, are used to support the Haqqanis and Pakistan-based Taliban who frequently target and kill Americans within Afghanistan. If we allow this activity to continue, not only will Pakistan and Turkey continue this, but so too will others.
By OpsLens Staff
