It revolves around the fact
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tequila
...the two combined undoubtedly stretched U.S. ground forces near the breaking point.
that the stretching occurred over a long period to a small US Force as opposed to a 'real war' shooting past the breaking point of elements of a larger force in a very short period of time.
It's all about intensity. To discount the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as not 'real wars' is foolish and incorrect and in some cases is stupid as its predicated on the fact the opponent is not 'first class' -- that's stupid because they can kill you just as dead as can a better trained and equipped foe...:mad:
To say neither war is high intensity combat against a peer or near peer competitor is true and is saying a quite different thing. One Corps or even one Division taking the KIA toll for Afghanistan from 2001 to date in one day is a whole different kind of war; the Bulge in Europe, 1944-45 saw over 16K KIA in a little over a month. Not long after that, Iwo Jima saw over 6K KIA in about the same amount of time.
Decisive individual since McArthur?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cap'nJake
Sadly, the "global network" makes things too interconnected today to allow an individual that level of autonomy; nor is any entity (nation, military, criminal enterprise, economic aid, diplomatic resolve, etc.) able to be that decisive.
Cap'n Jake,
I think you are wrong it is possible for an individual to be decisive. The US retired General Jacques "Joe" Klein led a remarkable UN mission in Eastern Slavonia, a Serb rebel enclave in Croatia, which was re-integrated with robust action: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...estern_Sirmium
IIRC he was backed by "interested parties", with a UN mandate, which both Croatia and local parties had to accept and a robust Jordanian Army battallion which gave him "muscle".
Cannot recall other UN missions which had such a figure and mission.
davidbfpo