Now that the War in Iraq is finally over

President Barack Obama announced that all U.S. combat forces will leave Iraq by the end of the year, thus marking a milestone and turning the page on military conflict that has lasted nearly a decade, cost a billion dollars a month and over 4,400 deaths of American soldiers killed in fighting militant Islamic insurgents. This deadline comes with the approval of the Iraqi Provisional government headed by the interim Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. For the returning veterans it will be receiving a heroes welcome initially, military debriefing and then integration back into a society that in economically anemic with no booster shot in sight to stimulate a struggling and stagnant economic machine.

The forty thousand or so former combatants will have a host of problems, and perhaps the most prevalent will be post-traumatic stress deficiency syndrome (PTSD), nightmares, and what do you do with your life now when for the last few years all you have been used to is killing people and blowing up things? This is not to say that our troops have not been exceptional in doing constructive things in Iraq such as help rebuild the infrastructure [roads, bridges, schools, hospitals] and restoring electrical, sewer/water and sanitation services, but with an unemployment around ten percent nationally, what skills can these soldiers offer in a very competitive marketplace that can’t even provide adequate employment opportunities to the most recent college graduates with technical and advanced degrees?

Another thing that hasn’t been discussed is the future role of the U.S. military and its mission to protect America domestically and abroad. Warfare as it has been waged in the past is gone forever and a new kind of fighting has been shaping up. The enemy wears no particular uniform and doesn’t meet you out in the open on a vast battlefield; it isn’t a jungle trail in Southeast Asia with overgrowth covering a ditch booby-trapped with sharpened bamboo poles at the bottom, or other deadly projectiles, or landmines; nor do troops storm a sandy beachhead from amphibious boats to breach razor wire and destroy large guns firing exploding 100mm howitzer shells from a concrete bunker. It is urban guerilla warfare using innocent civilians as human shields with explosives strapped to their bodies. It is using technology in the way of disposable cell phones to detonate IED’s [improved explosive devices], cyber warfare and computer viruses to make vital systems malfunction and inoperative, and it is creating a meltdown in financial markets throughout the world. It is WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction) in the form of chemical, radiological, or bacterial that can produce casualties on a massive scale; almost like a global pandemic.

So, the conventional deployment of thousands of troops and having to bivouac and support them with all the logistics and equipment will give way to the more elite, quick strike force teams like Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Special Forces. There will be more of an emphasis on intelligence gathering in collaboration with the CIA, Navy Intelligence, Homeland Security and increased use of GIS/GPS systems as well as unmanned predator drone surveillance [and attacks, if necessary]. It must also be remembered that before the War on Terror officially started in 2001, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was going around the country and closing some military bases. This practice will resume because America cannot any longer continue to afford paying for the operation of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine military installations in the United States and around the world because it is now just too cost prohibitive. There will of course be consolidation of some bases to reduce redundancy of operations and personnel but the remaining ones will be closed permanently. It is painful and unpopular but hard choices have to be made so while all Americans celebrate the return of our men and women in uniform from Iraq, some of these same ones will be competing with the rest of us for the few and scarce jobs that are available.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 22, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

The Republican’s early holiday gift to Barack Obama

Call it an early Christmas present but the GOP candidates for the nation’s highest elected office is a house divided. Instead of engaging in robust discussions regarding some of our most daunting challenges as a nation the political theatre has mainly produced a two-act play pitting two main actors against each other in a real-life dramatization about who is an “authentic” Christian. For Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, this is déjà vu or like the movie “Groundhog Day” where he relives his past over and over again. He is slick and polished, and honest-looking, like a used car salesman but as the Latin phrase goes, “caveat emptor.” Rick Perry is an Evangelical Christian whose religious dialogue with God and faith experience is uncannily similar to that of his gubernatorial predecessor and former President of the United States, George “Dubya” Bush. Michelle Bachmann was “Cinderella” until the clock finally struck midnight and one minute later she has been as relevant as a ‘Raggedy Ann’ doll.

Newt Gingrich imploded from the start like an errant WMD whose target was itself. Ron Paul, the darling of the Lyndon LaRouche crowd is like a lone tree falling in the forest that if nobody is there, who hears the sound that it makes? And then there is John Huntsman who is the perfect gentleman, but he has about as much charisma as former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Not to forget about Governor Chris Christie, who initially received a little sympathy support to throw his hat into the ring but decided against it; perhaps he looked less like the usual politician and more like a contestant on “The Biggest Loser.” Hermann Cain, the former Godfather Pizza magnate (Mr. 9-9-9) was asked to comment about whether he thought ‘Mormonism’ was a cult on CNN’s “State of the Union” last Sunday and said that he was not going to compare Mormonism vs. Christianity, but by the mere fact that he mentioned it in that way means he had already considered it as a “cult” and not Christian. Even Sarah Palin has decided not to campaign for President but thinks that she can better serve the American people by being our voice and championing our concerns by holding the Washington D.C. politicians feet to the fire on the hot button issues. For President Barack Obama, it seems that his only “real” opponents to a second term in office are THE ECONOMY, House Majority Leader, Representative John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 13, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com