by J.D. Wood

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 11, 2012

It may be worth noting that I don't have an allegiance to any particular political party. I love my country and her armed forces, of which I was actively a part for four years. That said...

Throughout the entire Middle Eastern mess, the American public has been force-fed a heaping helping of political caca. That's right. Large portions of nonsensical psychobabble that may have little or no relation to the ever elusive "truth" that we all so desperately crave.

Today, I'll do my best to give you a little nibble of that truth. The fact is, and has been, and most likely will remain that Iraq has been mismanaged on the ground. Now, in no way does this fall on the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, or other valiant entities over there doing what they do best. They were trained for this, and they're driving on with their mission the best way they know how.
Unfortunately, today's military machine, finely greased though it may be, relies on the strategic prowess of its chain of command. Leadership comes from the top, and if the top isn't on point with their decisions, the bottom's just spinning their well-armed wheels.

Let's go over a definition or two (or three) so we're all on the same page.
Tactical vs. Strategic: Tactics is the battle on the ground, as its happening. It's the skills with which one armed enemy pits itself against another in a specific confrontation. Strategy is what enables those small, tactical engagements to actually accomplish something. It's the difference between winning the battle and winning the war.

As my dear friend Sun Tzu put it in The Art of War, "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." Guess which one we have here.

Conventional Force: What we see in Iraq. Large groups of Soldiers trained to operate in groups from squad (about 6 men) to brigade (1000+), with the training to subdue or defeat an enemy through sheer strength of numbers. They receive minimal, if any, training on the actual psychology involved in war. They don't understand the response of the masses to their actions. Current military doctrine revolves around the Cold War-style force, and our Conventional Forces reflect this. They're a baseball bat.

Special Force: What you don't (and wouldn't) see in Iraq. They operate in small groups, trained specifically on the theatre in which they will be working. This means being heavily educated on local culture, politics, and other subtle nuances that the average Soldier

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