F-16A Fighting Falcon, F-15C Eagle, and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft fly over burning oil field sites in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.
It never happened!
In contrast, there are motorcyclists who routinely read this blog that fought in Operation Desert Shield, which became Operation Desert Storm and morphed into a number of other names.
I recall one of the biggest tank battles since World War II, was the Battle of 73 Easting, and broke the back of Saddam Hussein’s armored divisions and sealed Iraq’s defeat. Unfortunately that battle marked not the end of the Gulf War, but the beginning of several “forever-wars” that plague the U.S. to this day.
The scheme of maneuver for Operation Desert Storm
The last time China really attempted to wage a major war was against Vietnam back in February 1979. China was the aggressor, but it’s propaganda machine attached an unconvincing name to the conflict — the “Self-Defensive Counterattack Against Vietnam.” Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops crossed Vietnam’s northern border and invaded the country, to punish them for invading Kampuchea (today’s Cambodia), to remove the Khmer Rouge.
The Chinese invasion had their asses handed to them! Estimates run as high as 28,000 Chinese dead and 43,000 wounded, while the number of Vietnamese dead were estimated at under 10,000. The Vietnamese were tougher, had battle experience, better equipment, knew how to fight asymmetrical warfare against a larger force, and flat out beat the Chinese. After a month (March 1979), China suddenly declared its “lesson” to Vietnam was finished and began to withdraw completely on March 16, 1979.
Report: The Elements of the China Challenge
40-years later, both governments have seriously committed to suppressing memories of that war. Beijing’s unrelenting efforts to control information means that China claims the war as “a victory,” with all missions completed. That viewpoint is not supported by the evidence or any analysis.
Sound familiar? Do you recall China’s indifference to other nations’ well-being as they unleashed the “born in Wuhan,” COVID-19 global pandemic?
You are likely saying to yourself… “Don’t victimize the bats, Mac!”
But, what about the oppression of ethnic and religious minorities (Uyghurs, Tibetans, Mongolians, Christians); fighting Indian soldiers in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC); Chinese fighters/bombers buzzing Taiwan’s territorial airspace; or Hong Kong voters’ voices meaningless with a national security law? How about the forced technology transfers, cyberattacks, and a whole-of-nation approach to economic and industrial espionage. Then there is the intensified internal repression with mass surveillance and control over the country by expanding the systematic use of indoctrination, censorship, disinformation, high-tech surveillance, forced disappearances, “re-education” camps, compulsory labor, forced sterilization, involuntary birth control, and other heinous abuses. And, I haven’t even started on the control over the world’s international supply chains.
They don’t really seem to care unless it relates to control of the population and re-configuration of world affairs through economic power to achieve global preeminence.
Meanwhile, U.S. history reveals that the Operation Desert Storm battle marked not the end of the Gulf War but the beginning of several “forever-wars.” The U.S. established Operation Provide Comfort in April 1991 (renamed Operation Northern Watch in 1997). A no-fly zone was established in 1992 in the south of Iraq, known as Operation Southern Watch. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks. There was the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. There was Operation Neptune Spear to kill “Geronimo.” Then President Barack Obama expanded the battlefield to Syria by 2015.
The fighting we have done in the region, nonstop since the first troops were deployed in Kuwait in August 1990, should now be painfully obvious, the net result of all of the efforts is the same: We — not the ever aggressive economic power hungry CCP — are always fighting wars, which are perpetually costly. Thirty years of unending U.S. war has had profound costs on our country — with questionable strategic benefit.
Low-ball estimates suggest Washington has wasted a staggering $6T (yes, trillion $) on these wars vs. funding badly needed infrastructure at home. More sadly is the military personnel cost of thousands killed, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.
With any metric you want to apply, these “forever-wars” and nation-building have cost America an astronomical amount.
I understand that the United States must champion the principles of freedom — but the United States Government is accountable to the American people.
After 30-years, we’ve done our part and it is time to acknowledge reality, immediately withdraw troops and end it.
Images courtesy of USAF and Wikipedia commons.
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This is the question I’ve been pondering over after having an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with “
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