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| Yes | 51% | 243 votes | Total: 481 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesI admit that I am torn on this issue. I considered the matter for sometime prior to sitting down to write this article. After having weighed the issue it becomes clear that we have placed ourselves in the role of the "world's police agency" and since we have adopted that role, be it for better or for worse, we must be ready to defend those that have come to depend upon our playing the part at a moments notice. We must be ready to protect the interests we have abroad while at the same time protecting ourselves on our own soil. So the answer is, yes, we should strengthen our military by any and all means at our disposal.
After the nightmare of September 11th, 2001 we found ourselves in a war that had only vaguely defined fronts. One of the fronts was in Afghanistan another was in Iraq and yet another was right here in the U.S.and there were still others in other countries that are allied with us. We were, it seems in hindsight, prepared to adequately address the need to place troops into action on all of those fronts in relatively short order. But the battles in those areas rage on still here in 2007 and as any news organization can, and is only too happy, to tell us there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Regardless of the stance that any one of us takes concerning the rightness of these actions that we are taking the fact is that we are taking them and since we are, the need to keep a strong force ready to replace those that have served their time is of the essence.
There are several maxims that concern warfare. One that seems to fit handily into this debate is the old one that states, "the best way to ensure peace is to be prepared for war". No one, at least no one in their right mind, wants to wage war. There is nothing good that comes from it either for the victors or for the defeated. The cost of war is so huge in terms of money and lives that the waging of it is the first thing that any sane human would choose to have cease for all time. Alas, that isn't going to come to pass anytime soon. Since we can say that with relative certainty we should and, indeed, we must heed the aforementioned maxim over all others.
It would be foolish to think that after the success the terrorists had in carrying out the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings that any of them would feel that they couldn't or shouldn't try to cause more damage to our country. Given the fact the terrorists against whom we are engaged believe in the concept of Jihad and holy war we would be blind to think that they don't see a value in surrendering their lives to make such future attacks a reality. This one of many things against which we must be prepared to protect ourselves. It is a sad and sickening reality.
There is no one that lives today on this Earth that would like to see an end to war and violence any more than I would. There is, however, no reasonable cause to think that we will mature or evolve, if you prefer, to a state that will see this come to pass anytime in the foreseeable future. Since that is the case, we allow our military to stagnate at it's present level or diminish at our peril and at our children's peril. For the time being we must make the difficult choice to strengthen our military might and numbers. How very sad for all of us. Very sad.
Learn more about this author, Nouri Arif.
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No
This country was founded by volunteers and militias outnumbered, untrained, and under-supplied.
Take a look at the how the US military stands now and you'll see that it's been moved into the opposite direction, with maybe an exception to under-supplied in some circumstances. Currently, the US Military is large, bloated, and draining resources like never before. With current modern warfare, the US military is fighting its battles in costly ways that can easily be fixed.
Take a look at the military missile arsenal, targets can be attacked from hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles away. The "Shock and Awe" campaign of the Second Iraq War showed the world that government infrastructures can easily be taken down and disrupt the Chain of Command in a matter of hours. Giving land forces an easier task of assuming control on the ground after an attack. Land forces make up a large bulk of the US Military, which also makes it the biggest drain on resources. What if you were to dramatically shrink the size of the land forces, what type of savings would the military get? You'd have a lot less soldiers drawing pensions, or receiving funds for being injured for starters. With so many less mouths to feed, spending on food supplies would cut costs. But, what to do with the access money gained from a large reduction in forces?
Specializatio n of forces is what you do with the extra money. Instead of having such a large, jack of all trades' standing army. Why not funnel the extra money that you get from decreasing the size to applying it toward training a few highly trained, highly technological battalions? If you look over the course of history, most technological advances happened because of a military purpose or functionality. With the current US Military resources, and applying it to adaptation of technology for a smaller, more mobile, efficient military force, the technological advancements may be astounding. Because wars can be fought from far away using precision guided missiles or heavy artillery, doesn't it make sense for a smaller force on the land, equipped to the max with highly advanced technology to aid them on the ground after an assault from the air?
Decreasing the size of the US military is the way of the future, and, modern warfare looks like it might require it. Instead of making a larger standing army, the US Military would be far more useful as a tool if it were to become highly specialized, technological forces. The days of the US Military being rag-tag small volunteer militias are long gone, but should it still be a large rag-tag volunteer force in its place? The world has moved on, advanced, just as when the Polish Horse Calvary fought against the German Tanks in WW2, large freestanding armies should be a thing of the past, it is time to move on.
Learn more about this author, Ryan Thomason.
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