Requiem For Preventative War
Nothing new there at all. Discounting, of course, those who know nothing of the subject, and others for whom "echelons above reality" is a literal truth.
Professionals who have worked the field clearly understood from the beginning that OIF would, best case, have little to no impact upon the hard reality of the global terrorist threat posed by the non-state actors of Al-Qa'ida. The best case scenario is, of course, out the window, and we are seeing a tremendous negative impact that detracts from the effectiveness of our ops elsewhere. Not to mention that many of us are waiting uneasily for real threat migration to take place as trained and experienced foreign militants make their presence felt outside the combat theaters.
"Elsewhere" above refers to the behind-scenes war against the terrorists that the author completely ignores - as if Iraq and Afghanistan are our only efforts. We are heavily engaged around the world - with SOF, Intel and LE playing the major roles. We have had many successes, but commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan significantly restrict the SOF and Intel assets we are able to put into play into this (arguably the more critical) aspect of the GWOT.
Jeffrey Record's closing paragraph in his Dec 03 paper Bounding the Global War on Terrorism is still true today:
The global war on terrorism as presently defined and conducted is strategically unfocused, promises much more than it can deliver, and threatens to dissipate U.S. military and other resources in an endless and hopeless search for absolute security. The United States may be able to defeat, even destroy, al-Qaeda, but it cannot rid the world of terrorism, much less evil.
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