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Thread: Effect of the Iraq War on the US military

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    Featured Member Wwanderer's Avatar
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    Default Effect of the Iraq War on the US military

    Imo, the only real danger that we will lose the "war on terror" is that it will lose public support...and especially the support of military personnel. In the long run, the US would have probably been better off taking a major and stinging military defeat in the field (as unlikely as that would be) than it is trying to fight a war that a large and increasing number of Americans see as needless and unjustified.

    See

    http://www.political-news.org/breaki...ting-goal.html

    and

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/...499164,00.html

    and

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/newspi...0_MQE&refer=us

    and

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050630/..._congress_dc_1

    and

    http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunh...d/11887984.htm

    Whether or not the attack on Iraq was actually wise or justified, the failure of the Bush Administration to convince the public at large (as opposed to just his political supporters) will carry a huge price in my estimation.

    -Ww
    "At this moment what more need we seek?
    As the Truth eternally reveals itself,
    This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity,
    This very body is the Body of the Buddha."
    - Zazen Wasan

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    Featured Member GnBeret's Avatar
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    Default Re: Effect of the Iraq War on the US military

    On the "plus" side - we've "blooded" a new generation of NCO's, which means the entire military, and especially the combat units will operate much more efficiently and effectively for a good 12-15 years to come.


    On the "minus" side - we've "backslid" into the "half-assed shit" again, and it's hard to overstate the negative effects that has on the military.
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    Default Re: Effect of the Iraq War on the US military

    On the "plus" side - we've "blooded" a new generation of NCO's, which means the entire military, and especially the combat units will operate much more efficiently and effectively for a good 12-15 years to come.
    This is why retention among combat units in Iraq is actually very high, and alternatively, why the SEALs are losing so many operators--they're getting not enough action.

    People forget that all too often; if you're in a combat unit, you're not there for the money, you're there for the action. We need to keep that blade honed.

    While I can't wait for the next administration to lose the thoroughly retarded moniker of War on Terror, I'm not too worried about anti-terror operations losing public support; this is a generational conflict, and civilians getting blown apart on public transit systems in Western nations will pretty much guarantee that the American public will continue to support aggressive, offensive counterterror operations. Iraq doesn't really fall into this category but tangentially, but the point remains the same.
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    Featured Member Wwanderer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Effect of the Iraq War on the US military

    See

    http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG362.pdf

    for a full-up and fairly heavy duty analysis of a closely related problem (go ahead and read it; your tax dollars paid for it). Or, for a media level summary, see

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050714/...pe/army_stress

    This makes the marginal force levels committed in Iraq and the (very unfortunate) huge reduction in US military efforts in Afghanistan in support of Iraq easier to understand...not that the RAND study is really news to anyone in the Pentagon or anyone else paying close attention, but having that well respected think-tank "certify" the problem sort of makes it official.

    The response, perfectly reasonable in a time of war, will probably be for Congress to increase the authorized strength of the Army, but it is less than clear how this will be implemented given that recruiting efforts are not even successful in keeping troop levels up to the current authorized level.

    -Ww
    "At this moment what more need we seek?
    As the Truth eternally reveals itself,
    This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity,
    This very body is the Body of the Buddha."
    - Zazen Wasan

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