Balance of Power

Prior to WW2 power was naval. Great Britain was the leading naval power with the U. S. Great White Fleet coming up fast, carrying our flag to all corners of the globe. Pearl Harbor suddenly abolished that role. Aviation, carrier based and in the form of land based heavy bombers, became the arms by which power was exercised. After the destruction of most of the British navy in WW2 the U.S. reigned supreme. Spurred by Cold War competition with the Soviet Union we began developing ever more sophisticated (and complicated) aircraft, while the Soviets were able to compete in more limited fashion and eventually become non-competitive. We have reached the point where technology has run away with practicality. Our new planes are so technically sophisticated that they no longer have any viable opponents and are no longer suitable for the missions which we face. In fact they have only been flown for experimental and training purposes, at a cost in the multi $billions for just a few. Most of the missions our military must deal with today involve asymmetric warfare. We face hostile militias, rag-tag bands of brigands, highly disciplined terror cells, and thug armies of dictators. What is required for those missions are highly mobile ground strike forces, supported by close-in air and sea forces, and skilled follow up personnel to secure a cleansed area and assure the support and cooperation of the native population. A billion dollar stealth fighter plane is useless for any of that. Overriding all of the above is the stark fact that our nation no longer can muster the resources for such asymmetric warfare in many theatres at once, and pay for show piece military hardware that will likely never see combat.

Inventory of a nation's assets

In previous blogs I have stated a case for the decline of the American empire, and urged that we set about living within our means and getting our economy once again on the road to prosperity. That process requires will power, intelligence, discipline, and a variety of tools. Are they present in the body politic, or are we so ridden with partisanship, greed and class warfare that we are beyond redemption? I say they are, and we can and will make the changes it will take to again be the world leader. Let us take count of the assets we can bring to bear on the process. We have a huge reservoir of highly skilled entrepreneurs that have demonstrated creativity in technology, manufacturing and marketing. Unfortunately the search for ever lower costs and ever higher profits has allowed our industrial base to migrate abroad. But the brain power still resides here and can be applied to other products for the green world that is coming. Our workforce is as productive as any in the world and if given the opportunity and motivation, will outperform the Asians. The capital for new enterprises exists in abundance within the hoarded corporate profits accumulated during this recession. It needs to be put to work. On the government revenue side, with a dose of patriotism and empathy by many the Income Tax code could be revised to eliminate tax shelters that create great inequity in taxes paid and wealth accumulated. For example the world's largest corporation, General Electric, payed zero taxes on $14 billion net profit last year. Coupled with a gradual reduction in spending, and military funding the increased revenue should permit us to gradually reduce the deficit and reach a pay-as-you-go state All the elements for recovery are there, except for the unselfishness now essential to put them to work. If we will it, it WILL happen.

Account Overdrawn!

The U.S. has arrived at the end of the road we have travelled since 1945 and
we must take a new direction to survive. For some 65 years we have successfully played the role of world hegemon and chief of police for a tumultuous
world, and played it well most times. But in recent years, with the Iraq and
Afghanistan invasions, areas of which we had little knowledge, we went beyond
our capabilities and are mired in quicksand. In the process we destroyed our
economy and our international stature. The rest of the free world is content to
let us play the role of leader of the gang and bearer of the largest burdens but
as the Libya operation shows, they retain control of their own forces
Being the world leader is heady stuff and made us feel it will be thus forever.
But empires are not permanent and ours is coming to its end. This is not
a development to be lamented. It is time for us to devote our efforts to getting our economic house in order. Our military will for some time remain the
world's most powerful, capable of inflicting immense damage on an enormous scale, but that also will change as we reduce our military funding.
Now we must revert to the traditional "can do" spirit which made us world
leader and apply ourselves to the difficult tasks of living within our means and
paying our debts.

Musings on Libya

As with all operations of this genre the unexpected development is the expected.
We were fortunate that the first air crash in the Libya operation ended with
the air crew back in U.S hands. Suppose they been captured by Ghadaffi's forces? Would we submit to blackmail? Or send an expeditionary force to attempt a rescue? Or up the severity of our attacks to force their release? What would be the attitude of the public to Americans in Ghadaffi's hands?
The missiles and bombs we are launching against Libya are expensive. Some
missiles cost in the multi-$millions each and we have already expended hundreds of millions in the few days of operations so far. Where will we
find the money to replace them? Will our escalating involvement in another foreign military campaign further erode the public confidence in our government?
Air operations, from carriers use up tremendous amounts of scare and expensive petroleum based fuel. Is this the way to use it in today's world?
I hope these matters were aired before the attack decision was taken!

And so it begins again

The U.S. has participated in a policing operation attacking Libya along with
armed forces from other members of the international community.
The ostensible purpose is to stop Qaddafi from further attacks on the rebels.

My memory contains the results of other such police actions, which began
modestly and led to entanglements in large scale wars, with thousands of casualties on all sides, and outcomes far from what was intended. Think of Bosnia, Iraq, Somalia. Afghanistan.

The basic problem in such police actions are the unknowns. The attackers know their purpose and intent. They do not know how the attacked party will respond. Usually the response is different than expected, and the operation
leads into unexpected directions, requiring further and escalated attacks, provoking ever more violent responses. And so the waltz of war develops its
own momentum and we are once again embroiled in a foreign adventure
which drains our scarce resources. Let us hope for a different outcome on this one.

The Existencial Challenge

Nature has thrown down the gauntlet to humankind, and our very survival as a species will depend on whether we have the good sense to accept and overcome
the challenge. We are in a race between unrestrained population growth, and
a planet whose available resources are finite and irreplaceable. At the point of no return, when starvation and disease begin their role as the involuntary
determinants of which and how many people will survive, humanity will be left with no choices. Our fates will be out of our hands.
When we reach that point of no return will depend on actions which we take starting now. Scientists opine that it will arrive within a single century, or even sooner. That doesn't give us much time to change our behavior, to overcome our apathy and complacency.
One of the first, totally logical step which we can take is to discard to the ash
heap of history those science deniers currently serving in Congress. Their
service in the cause of the special interests which profit from the status quo,
particularly big oil, is obscene and criminal. They delay addressing the problem
when delay will have such dire consequences.
Perhaps what is needed are some rabble rousers of the Rush Limbaugh, Glen
Beck power to take up the cause and make it a crusade They would be acclaimed by history as heroes. Good will apparently is not a sufficient motivator for the masses.

Where is America when freedom calls?

Many people, at home and abroad, are wondering if we have lost our zeal
for political and individual freedom because we have not gone all-out to
provide material support for the hordes fighting in the streets of the middle East to rid themselves of corrupt and brutal dictators. It is not for lack of zeal,
but lack of capacity. Our plate is full with two indigestible wars, sending aid to
nations devastated by natural disasters, and recession in our economy. All financed by borrowing and printing money, not by fair and universal taxes.
We can no longer be the major provider and guarantor of Liberte, Egalite,
Fraternite to the downtrodden of the world.
The countries in the middle East were once colonies of the European powers
and became independent as a result of European wars. The European Union
is closer to them geographically, politically, economically and culturally, and
more dependent on their oil than are we. They must accept the challenge to
bring freedom to their former colonies. We must concentrate on restoring our
economy to a sound foundation, then we may sometime again be the major player on the world stage.

Congress Playing Russian Roulette--

---with the nation. The new Republican zealots are determined to eliminate any
trace of social service programs that make for the advanced and civilized life
which have made the United States so coveted a place to live. Our advanced
standard of living did not arrive by chance. It was as a result of many years of
deliberate planning and funding of education, the arts, security programs for the average working citizens.
It included National parks and Nature reserves, clean
water and air, libraries and national museums and infra-structure beyond counting. such as hospitals, clinics, veterans care and facilities. You can all come up with more. And for all of those, the dedicated hard working people to man them.
None of those caused our current financial crisis, but they are the areas being attacked by the know-nothings in Congress.The real causes of our difficulties
lie in the elimination of regulations and oversight of the financial markets,
our moth eaten tax laws encouraging evasion of taxes and diversion of capital,
our initiation and conduct of foreign wars, funded off budget, and our role as
world policeman, requiring us to maintain costly bases everywhere.
The demonization of taxes, which starved all levels of government, coupled with
unrestrained borrowing to finance military adventures of no benefit to the nation should be the areas of concern, not the social programs.

Bang, you're dead--part two

I mentioned that for my survey I would be sending some questions which I earnestly hope some of you will answer. Here goes:

ONE: You are gridlocked on a superhighway after work some Summer day. All around are fatigued, irritated drivers anxious to get home. Would it make you feel safer to know that every driver is, or is permitted to carry a loaded firearm?

TWO: You are looking over some colleges for your son who will attend in the Fall. In one college you find that the young people who are not yet mature
enough to have learned anger management and who are prone to disputes about such things as turf, girls, parking spots, etc. are permitted to carry
loaded firearms in school. Would this encourage you to enroll your child there?

THREE: While attending a church service a deranged man, carrying an expanded magazine automatic pistol, invades the church and starts shooting the congregants. One of them is armed and shoots and kills the intruder. Did the fact that some of the audience were carrying a loaded firearm save lives?

FOUR: Police authorities are reporting that criminals are changing tactics
in person on person crime. Because more people are armed for self defense,
attackers are now shooting the victim first, and stealing his weapon.
Does this sound true, or is it propaganda?

FIVE: Weapons for self defense against burglars or home invaders must be kept
in an accessible place to be of use in an emergency. If a child finds the weapon, which is fascinating to children, and someone ends up shot or dead, should the
parent be in an way sanctioned?

You may reply by comment on this blog, or in more detail to:
martinbest@bellsouth.net