Sunday, September 18, 2011

How to defeat America on the battefield

A pair of retired generals Robert H. Scales and Paul van Riper have written a really good op-ed in the Washington Post in re the awarding of the CMH to an Army NCO who actually lived to receive it. Along the way they make the point that the strategy to defeat America on the battlefield has already been written. And our enemies have read it and are using it at this very moment. 

First, make the Americans fight on your terms at a place and time of your choosing.

"...no small unit in such peril should ever cede the high ground to the enemy, particularly when unmanned vehicles are capable of monitoring constantly overhead and transmitting clear pictures of the surrounding terrain."

Second, spend all your money on whiz-bang wonder weapons, shady civilian war contractors, and corrupt indigenous governments rather than basic issue combat kit (e.g., the issue infantry rifle, state-of-the-art body armor, etc.).

"Army and Marine Corps infantry squads were outgunned at the tactical level in Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army's superior AK-47 assault rifles. We would like a Beltway guru to explain why Sgt. Giunta had to fight with the same rifle we used so long ago."

Third, kill as many Americans as possible. People back home don't like their men coming home disfigured or dead from overseas battlefields in places they don't especially care about. 

Fourth, read the writings of PAVN General Vo Nguyen Giap. He explains it all in detail. To wit: With a correct strategy you may lose battles but you will win the war. Following an incorrect strategy you may win battles but you will ultimately lose the war.