Peace Through Superior Firepower

--Cardow, Ottawa Citizen

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
--We Gotta Get Out of This Place,
The Animals
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The CNN reporter covering a recent story on Afghanistan and U.S. troops there said that all Taliban actions were met with overwhelming American firepower.

Sounds like a winner, but firepower is absolutely useless unless the enemy is fixed and then maneuvered against and assaulted and destroyed. The goal of all ground combat is to close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver. Nowhere does the infantry mission statement include that we intimidate or bedazzle the enemy with impressive displays of ordnance.

If the enemy is not killed, then our soldiers might as well be an exhibit at Disneyworld. We could call it, Fantasia.

There are two types of fire as all combat soldiers are aware -- effective fire and ineffective fire. Seems simple, but we fail to acknowledge this point in application and explication. When U.S. troops return fire onto overlooking hills, this is as useless as tits on a bullfrog. It is simply wasting ammunition for no benefit. It makes the soldiers feel they are doing something when all they are accomplishing is noise pollution.

The reporter asked a Captain, 'Why are you here?' Came the reply, "Because they told me to come." The reality of an infantry Captain stuck out in the middle of nowhere is not exactly the stuff of stateside hooah fantasies. He also admitted he has little contact with the civilian population.

The soldiers were playing The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place". In Vietnam, this song was banned on the Armed Forces Vietnam network.

These soldiers may realize their war is futile, as we did.