Posted by
JDComments on Thursday, August 17, 2006 3:30:58 PM
It is a truism in sports that the best defense is a good offense. This is also a concept that holds true in warfare. At no time is history has a general preferred to be fighting on his own terrority as opposed to the enemies. That doesn't mean there hasn' t been guerrilla wars fought like the Spanish against Napoleon, and the Iraqis today, but given the choice, any knowledgeable general would prefer to be on the offensive. This is a direct result of the basic underlying theory of battle. which is, as Stonewall Jackson so nicely put it, to mystify, mislead and surprise. When you are on defense, especially on your home terroritory, you are the one waiting for the surprise, and that is not a good place to be. Defense entails making contingencies for all possible eventualities, while the attacker only has to have one good plan. As they say, on defense you can be right 99 out of 100 times and you lose. On offense, all you need is that one time, and you're going home in triumph.
The war on IslamoFascism is an extreme example of this verity. We can sit here, as the Democrats advocate, and try to plan for every possible attack, but in the real world there are limits to resources, and , in truth, even if they were infinite, the possibilty that we can anticipate and rebuff evey possible plan of the enemy is miniscule. Eventually we would fail , and another 9/11 , or worse , would result . It is horrifying to contemplate, but inevitable if we retreat and try to create fortress America.
Our only recourse is to take the fight to the enemy and let them scramble and play defense against us. Iraq and Afghanistan are not wasted efforts, but the only real option we have. The Islamic jihadists do not have unlimited resources either, and I much prefer the idea of them sitting in a cave somewhere, or cowering is a hovel in the desert looking over their shoulders for incoming to us waiting for them to commit another heinous act in our country. It is always better to give than to receive, especially when it comes to offensive surprises.