-- John Young wrote:
There is a decreasing chance the US can apply its military might to defeat an unconventional enemy. That kind of enemy is not what long-standing military strategy and most tactics are aimed at. Rumsfeld was hoping to revise that when yet one more mighty military war appeared to head off changing military policy.
The US never intended to use its military might to defeat an unconventional enemy. It intended to use its military might in the entirely conventional way to destroy or deter governments that foster terrorism, as was accomplished very successfully in Afghanistan. Regime change in Iraq was supposed to deter Syria and Iran, but they have not in fact been deterred. Saudi Arabia and Libya have been deterred. Indonesia has changed its policy on terror, but it is unclear whether this was the result of the spectacle of Saddam and his bullet ridden sons or honest soul searching. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG nVs3V7urdcH8GOjfhlNYzb0/JWqCDKupA3RE8WE3 4YdwLgC/LWPMsXcHeSFlqJW/NrcK/eDjuprNNcJok