Blue Star Chronicles

Total war is the concept of destroying the enemy’s ability to wage war as well as the will of the the people to wage war. General William T. Sherman is generally credited with the concept of total war.

In his version of total war, there were not so many human casualties, comparatively, but the infrastructure of the society he burned his way through was destroyed. Railroad tracks were destroyed and the South was cut off from the rest of the world, with no way to communicate nor could they sell or acquire goods. Their supply lines were cut off and their property destroyed.

Sherman left a huge swath of destruction in his wake from Chattanooga to Savannah and then up through the Carolinas. He was universally hated throughout the South, for generations. But he did break the extremely strong will of the South and the war ended.

I find it hard to believe that Sherman was the first to practice total war. When I think about it, although I wasn’t there at the time, I think surely the Vikings and the Romans practiced total war. In fact, I imagine that until the wars of the 20th century, total war was probably how war was conducted.

Now we think we are civilized. We think we can conduct a war while winning the hearts and minds of the population with which we are at war. Of course, we tell our selves we are not at war with the population, just the extremist who are hiding among the population. Therefore, we have to spare the population. We also don’t want to damage any buildings.

We certainly don’t want anyone to be angry with us for being powerful and ruthless in our defense of our Nation.

The problem with this strategy is that the ‘extremist’ are hiding among the population. That implies that the population is protecting them and allowing them to be there.

I am fully aware that this is not a conventional war. This isn’t one nation fighting against another. This is a war of civilizations, of ideologies. But the war is still fought in places and in those places there are people who are hiding and assisting those who are killing our troops.

When our Soldiers are being hit by snipers we have to know that the snipers have had some assistance from someone to get into a position to fire at our troops. When insurgents put out IEDs to target American convoys, someone in the nearby towns has to know they are doing it and are providing them assistance. There has to be a place to hide, a place to keep their equipment, a place to rest, etc. If nothing else, they have to at least be aware of it and doing nothing to assist the troops.

The Forward Operations Bases (FOB) that our Soldiers are in are being hit by mortars constantly. Those mortars are coming from somewhere. And the people in the villages know where they are coming from.

So while the baby boomers are in control of the country, the peace and love generation of pacifist, we find ourselves in the most dangerous situation our country has been in. The very real threat of losing our power and being vulnerable to any enemy that wishes to do us harm.

Our oceans no longer protect us. Rogue nations are obtaining nuclear capability. Worse, they are not afraid of us. No one believes we have the will or the willingness to be ruthless enough to stop them. Our words, sanctions and resolutions are meaningless. Our enemies know what they hear in the American media, that the American people are soft and unwilling to do without anything, ANYTHING, for the safety and good of the country. The ‘me’ generation does not value self-sacrifice for the good of the country.

Even worse, the argument I hear often is that we are wrong for even thinking of it in terms of our country versus their country. Who is to say who is right and who is wrong, they ask. Why should we believe we are entitled to win over someone else? Do we believe they have less of a right to their way of life than we do? These people don’t seem to understand that we are not fighting people who think the same way. They will have no problem denying them the right to think or speak as they feel right.

Not taking sides is equivalent to taking sides against your own people.

Sending our Soldiers out to search for terrorists in neighborhoods that they are simultaneously expected to win over with kindness is sending our Soldiers to slaughter. Putting up camps for our Soldiers in neighborhoods that are not secured is leaving them in an untenable situation for a Soldier. A situation in which he is not allowed to do what he is trained to do, fight. He is expected to sit there and wait for the mortar that will hit and wonder if the next one will hit him. Being hit by snipers, with mortars or with IEDs by ghosts and having a complete inability to fight back is not a Soldier’s nature. This is demoralizing for Soldiers.

Fighing and dying is one thing. Being a sitting duck is a whole other thing. No Soldier is trained to be a sitting duck and should never be asked to be one.

Obadiah Shoher writes Less than total war is futile at Samson Blinded

Could Israel conquer the Arab states? Yes, but only in penetrating mobile strikes, not in the protracted “humane” warfare. The extent of victory made all the difference between the first and the second world wars. After the first war, the Entente did not enter German capital, devastate the country, or change the government and its constitution. The enemy was humiliated and left to rearm. It did rearm and stroke back with vengeance in twenty years. French and the British occupied Egypt with meager efforts, established local administration, and ruled the country with little opposition. Egypt is unlike Germany in that its people lack the culture of moderation (other Arabs are still more wild), but we also have the example of Japan which turned its educational system around after the war, taught international coexistence to the children, and opened itself to the world. Israel needs to heavily control the occupied Arab states for a decade or so. That will suffice to bring about the lasting reforms in education and mentality. The occupational administration won’t be that hard: Machiavelli taught that totalitarian states are easy to rule because their people are used to unfreedom.

As Obadiah points out, not ending a war lead to a more vicious war a few years later. I take it even further in that I believe that all the wars of the 20th century can be traced back to not finishing the job of the first world war.

Back to General William T. Sherman. As a born and raised Southerner (Georgian to boot) and descendant of multiple generations of Southerners, I have to say that Sherman’s name has been synonymous with the devil. That’s the way it is with a defeated society. But I will step out on a limb here, knowing that it’s not proper to find anything but evil in Sherman. He did end the war between the states. Knowing what I know about the South and nature of the average Southerner, I feel that I’m safe to say that the South would have fought to the last man, woman and child had it not ended as it did.

I believe history tells us that Japan would have done the same thing. It took two atomic bombs to bring Japan to it’s knees. Two.

Both societies have grown from the ashes of their societies and are stronger and better societies than they were prior to their defeat.

I have lost faith in our politicians (if I ever had any to begin with). I don’t think wars should be fought by politicians. Warriors should fight wars and should not have their hands tied by the political winds that blow continents away. Soldiers should not have to get permission from the Pentagon to return fire or to use certain weapons. They should be able to use whatever means are at their disposal to defeat the enemy. I thought we had learned that lesson in Vietnam, but apparently not.

These half measures are appalling and it is unacceptable for our Soldiers to be put in this kind of danger with the prospect of court martial hanging over their heads if they fight back. We need to win in Iraq. It was strategic genius to take Iraq. But it has been handled poorly. It should have been taken, not played with.

If the people of this country can not muster the stomach for total war than we need to admit we are not the nation we once were, relinquish our status as a global power and surrender. That will be a frieghten prospect for us - and also for the rest of the world that look to us to keep them safe.

I keep looking at the politicians on the horizon and wondering who can lead us in this Long War. The war that will define the beginning of the 21st century. This war that is, indeed, a Global War on Terror. I’m looking for a wartime president and I don’t see one anywhere. I still have hope that one will emerge.

David at Third World County looks at some of the unique problems/opportunties presented in Iraq and has some ideas about partitioning Iraq.

Linked with: Third World County, Outside the Beltway, Samantha Burns, Stuck on Stupid, Bullwinkle Blog, Woman Honor Thyself, The Florida Masochist, Stop the ACLU