America isn't fighting wars right - General

[QUOTE=gman003-main;27600799]I actually agree with the OP. If you're going to fight a war, you need to actually fight it. Basically, you have to recognize that, no matter what, you're going to be seen as an asshole. So, you might as well be a successful asshole, rather than an incompetent one. America has the "invade the country, utterly destroy all organized military resistance with shock-and-awe" part down. Just look at Iraq - 21 days from the start of the invasion to the fall of Saddam's regime. Three weeks. Against a force twice its size. That should have been enough to prove to the world that "you do not fuck with America, because we will FUCK YOUR SHIT UP." Unfortunately, after that, we tried to make Iraq a friend, an "ally". Didn't work. The only thing it was successful at was redirecting terrorist activities to somewhere outside America. You want to know how I would have done it? I would be brutal. I would be vicious. I would be barbaric. You kill one of my men, I kill ten of yours. You plant an IED, I drop a GBU-43 on you. You have a sniper take potshots at my base, I return fire with a 155mm howitzer. You blow up one of my Hummvees, I blow up one of your villages. Quid pro fucking quo. Not just "an eye for an eye", this would be "massive retaliation". Basically, I would fight terror with terror. "Kill all sons of bitches". Those would indeed be my official instructions. Enemy casualties would be high. Civilian casualties would be higher. The country might not be habitable by the end of it. The entire world might hate us at the end of it. But it would work. And you know what? Let them hate, so long as they fear. However, I hope that fighting wars this way might, paradoxically, make wars less common. If war meant "utterly destroying your enemy", rather than "police the country for a decade", it might make alternative options seem more usable. That would be for the best.[/QUOTE] You've obviously never had to make a difficult decision in your life. People who govern wars have to decide on a moral level as well. I don't think you understand how much guilt a person would feel after authorising a massacre. Of course there are those fuckers who live for shit like that.

[QUOTE=RebeccaChambers;27599474]Pretty much every war since World War II has been fought incorrectly. America is just fighting lightweight wars, which is terrible. This is the reason we see wars last a long time (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.). If we actually invaded our enemies, things would be different. Right now we worry more about collateral damage than we do about winning the war. It's supposed to be a war, bad things happen from time to time, we have to roll with the punches. Had we launched a full scale invasion of Iraq, I guarantee you the war would be have been over almost instantly. Same goes for all of the other wars America has fought in since World War II. Politicians are making military decisions, and that is why we are stuck in unnecessarily long and bloody wars that last 5+ years. It's gotten so ridiculous now, if a soldier is being shot at by a terrorist, but the terrorist sets his gun down and just walks away (but doesn't surrender), you aren't supposed to kill him anymore, despite the fact that he was trying to kill you a second ago, and will most likely try to kill you or another American later.[/QUOTE] Afganistan is not a war. Its a counter insurgency and a peace keeping operation, otherwise we would be fighting the ANA not the populace. Veitnam they weren't prepared for what the VC had in store for them, the last thing I would expect when I go into a war zone is sticks covered in shit. Korea wasn't as long as WW2

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;27602273]What. You were making this distinction fine before, what went wrong.[/QUOTE] What are you talking about? [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Del91;27602389][i]Scorched Earth.[/i] Bitches. But yeah, I think we need to get the fuck out of Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to stop being the god damn World police and fix our economy/job market/immigration/Health care system/ect. [editline]22nd January 2011[/editline] Also, who's the enemy in the "[b]War on Terror[/b]"? As soon as we kick the shit out of one guy we don't like we move on to the next country and kick the shit out of them.[/QUOTE] Once Obamacare is gone, our healthcare system will be great. [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=JaegerMonster;27602776]Sort of. This argument has been had on many military community forums a number of times. It's generally agreed that the UK has some of the best infantry training in the world, with Australia perhaps being a close 2nd (smaller country allows for more consistent levels of training provided to soldiers), especially when it comes to their jungle warfare schools. However, as far as mechanized combat goes, it's generally agreed America still holds the title (keep in mind all of this is very hard to qualify, you can't really say "oh this country's <insert> is the best" because in the end it comes down to so many variables) As an aside, the US Marine infantry training actually lasts longer than UK infantry training IIRC. [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] This is really terrible list because the "war on terror" is a global thing, not just Afghanistan. There are smaller conflicts we have never even seen a news report on in other countries against terrorist groups right now. Also, a lot of those countries are only committed in the form of advisory staff and information supply. [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] Well yeah, at one point I may have argued that A-stan was, arguably, a war worth fighting if the end result meant removing the Taliban from their oppressive position of power, and raising a competent Afghani government, but even that would not be worth the cost, both human and monetary the war has sucked away so far. Now with the economic issue, that seems to be much more relevant than fixing some other country's problems right now. As for the war on terror, contrary to popular belief, America isn't the only country who has terrorist cells on their shit list. [img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/Battlefields_in_The_Global_War_on_Terror_-_edit02.png[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] Contrary to popular belief? I'm fairly certain almost everyone knows that everyone hates terrorists.

[QUOTE=not_Morph53;27599671]"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." -- Bertrand Russell[/QUOTE] goddamnit you're like those people who say those MW2 quotes all the time

[QUOTE=iusehax;27605924]OP this is off topic but can I have a source to your avatar?[/QUOTE] images.google.com + Susan Coffey = HOTness

Pretty sure I could make a thread with the title "America!" and the OP ":)" and you asshats could argue for pages about it.

[QUOTE=imasillypiggy;27599579]Heres a better way to make wars dont last to long. dont go to into wars so much.[/QUOTE] what the fuck......

[QUOTE=P1X3L N1NJA;27606709]Afganistan is not a war. Its a counter insurgency and a peace keeping operation, otherwise we would be fighting the ANA not the populace. Veitnam they weren't prepared for what the VC had in store for them, the last thing I would expect when I go into a war zone is sticks covered in shit. Korea wasn't as long as WW2[/QUOTE] The Korean War isn't even over...

They should give up the pussy shit and just make a crater out of the place. If it's been going on since 2001, it was a bad idea

Just make Enola Gay II with little boy II. America's reputation about nuclear weapon use hasn't changed since nagasaki anyway, it can't get worse :v:

Underestimation seems to be America's biggest enemy, it has defeated them time and time again. Also Ryu-Gi, is that you?

Remember what Russia did with that school? Bang bang bang kill every terrorist no matter about terrorist threating killing civilians.

The only way to fight a war right is to either kick someone's ass and leave, or don't do it.

I admit we do seem to be acting lightly

The Iraqi regular military was annihilated within weeks. It's the insurgency that developed afterwards that extended it. Going in "full force" wouldn't have helped much except increase the bodycount of civilians. The American military has a shit track record with counter-insurgency, [b]THAT[/b] is why the wars post-WW2 have been such dragged-out affairs, not because they didn't use enough bombs on civilians. [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=RebeccaChambers;27607551]The Korean War isn't even over...[/QUOTE]That's an irrelevant technicality. There have been no continuation of full-scale military operations since the truce was signed. [editline]23rd January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=RebeccaChambers;27607046]Once Obamacare is gone, our healthcare system will be great.[/QUOTE]It hasn't even gone into effect yet, you moron. Most of the major provisions take effect in 2014 or later.

-removed-

[QUOTE=not_Morph53;27599671]"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." -- Bertrand Russell[/QUOTE] Peace do determine who is left - not who is right

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;27607864]That's an irrelevant technicality. There have been no continuation of full-scale military operations since the truce was signed.[/QUOTE] Except that one time... [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_DMZ_Conflict_%281966-1969%29[/url] [QUOTE=Michael Arnold;27607979][/quote] We aren't your personal army.

[QUOTE=Michael Arnold;27607979]-removed-[/QUOTE] Two recommendations: [list=1] [*] Shut up. [*] Snip that, as it'll probably get you perma'd for inciting raiding.[/list]

[QUOTE=Hellduck;27608123]Two recommendations: [list=1] [*] Shut up. [*] Snip that, as it'll probably get you perma'd for inciting raiding.[/list][/QUOTE] shh, dont cry.

[QUOTE=Michael Arnold;27608133]shh, dont cry.[/QUOTE] Yeah, says a banned spammer.

[QUOTE=Michael Arnold;27607979]-removed-][/QUOTE] good post

[QUOTE=Am I Really?;27608184]good post[/QUOTE] Makes one think, eh?

[QUOTE=Extroll;27599606]I'm a pacifist in most cases but if I was the General of the Army I wouldn't waste time dicking around with diplomatic bullshit if I knew I could win the war with brute force in a matter of weeks or even days.[/QUOTE] What would you be saying about the army if we went into iraq/afghanistan with an iron fist and didn't even attempt diplomacy? I know i'd be pretty pissed off.

[QUOTE=melonmonkey;27608205]What would you be saying about the army if we went into iraq/afghanistan with an iron fist and didn't even attempt diplomacy? I know i'd be pretty pissed off.[/QUOTE] I'd be proud of America. Even though I'm European.

[QUOTE=RebeccaChambers;27608010]Except that one time... [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_DMZ_Conflict_%281966-1969%29[/url][/QUOTE]A series of clashes, like there has always been since the armistice was signed. Wake me up when they're bombing Seoul.

If your username has to do with your sex then I am not going to believe anything that you say.

[QUOTE=Shadowstone;27599577][B]“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”[/B] Unfortunately, the means which are taken in human society are of war, destruction, and show of military might. Also, why point out just America?[/QUOTE] Most other countries go full scale nowadays. Look a the war between Russia and Georgia instead of being stupid little shits and going light weight they decide to pound the fuck out them.

[QUOTE=RebeccaChambers;27599474] America is fighting wars wrong[/QUOTE] Should these wars be cold when fought?

Facepunch is full of stupid people. You can sit here and talk about how you'd bomb the shit out of civilians, but none of you have or probably will ever see war, you'll never lose your family to a stray artillery shell. You'll never watch as your children as set on fucking fire from some kind of homemade explosive.