In 1939, Poland had more troops than Germany; Russia had many more; France fielded a larger army.
The Nazi regime tooled for a new war - Blitzkrieg that combined mechanized infantry, tanks, and superior air cover. The tactics matched a strategy for a swift and brutal capture of territory while doling out a psychological despair to defenders. It worked - by and large.
Poland sent lancers against tanks. Russia exterminated its officer corps prior to Barbarossa. France sat in a fort. Warfare must be realistic. Supply, communication, weapons systems, and manpower must match intended outcomes.
Our carrier fleet is unmatched world wide, for now, but, is of little help in finding a terrorist's suburban villa in Pakistan. However, choppers full of motivated and professional warriors sent over the Afghan mountains by a Commander in Chief with a warrior's heart was just the ticket. Outcomes matched intent.
In 1991 and again in 2001, The Bush Presidents applied the doctrine of shock and awe - it worked by and large.
Terrorists, from the time of the 1920's Irish War of Independence under the direction of the IRA's Michael Collins*, through Menachem Begin's Stern Gang in Israel, to J.M. Kariuki's Mau-maus ( acronym for Let the Europeans go home to Europe) in Kenya, and up to the late Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda, apply indiscriminate terror -shootings, bombings, decapitations, or mutilations in an exercise of Hegelian will over human beings and any and all law. Acts of terror are preceded and followed by demands of all manner of construction. Acts of terror must be met with reality.
The rule of nations must be the rule of Law.
Counter-terrorism seems to be most effective when terrorists are personally held accountable by lawful governments. Elite specialists go in and kill them all. Strike fast and get out. The Israelis are past masters of this form of warfare. Use our intelligence capabilities and send in our best trained warriors to kill criminals. Terror meets reality. In his last nano second alive, I hope that Osama said, " I over-played my hand."
In some way, I hope he also knew who pulled the trigger - President Obama.
Not since President Reagan has a Commander in Chief earned the salute of his troops - President Obama is a Warrior -period.
Well done President Obama. You killed Bin Laden as much as the young warrior who pulled the trigger. No American can honestly criticize your courage, leadership, and dedication to the Constitutional Oath you took in 2009. More importantly you recognized the efforts of President GW Bush and displayed great grace in calling him with the news of Bin Laden's fate. President Barack Hussein Obama defended our Republic.
This is what being President is all about - I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States..
This is your moment, Mr. President. God Bless You and your Administration.
* Correction Michael Collins was a guerilla leader - limiting his activities to Military and Crown targets.
Michael Collins first became known during the Easter Rising in 1916. A skilled organiser of considerable intelligence, he was highly respected in the IRB, so much so that he was made financial advisor to Count Plunkett, father of one of the Rising's organisers, Joseph Mary Plunkett, whose aide-de-camp Collins later became.
When the Rising itself took place on Easter Monday, 1916, he fought alongside Patrick Pearse and others in the General Post Office in Dublin. The Rising became (as expected by many) a military disaster. While some celebrated the fact that a rising had happened at all, believing in Pearse's theory of "blood sacrifice" (namely that the deaths of the Rising's leaders would inspire others), Collins railed against it, notably the seizure of indefensible and very vulnerable positions such as St Stephen's Green that were impossible to escape from and difficult to supply. (During the War of Independence he ensured the avoidance of such sitting targets, with his soldiers operating as "flying columns" who waged a guerrilla war against the British, suddenly attacking then just as quickly withdrawing, minimising losses and maximising effectiveness.)
Collins, like many of the other participants, was arrested, almost executed[8] and was imprisoned up at Frongoch internment camp. Collins became one of the leading figures in the post-rising Sinn Féin, a small nationalist party which the British government and the Irish media wrongly blamed for the Rising. It was quickly infiltrated by participants in the Rising, so as to capitalise on the "notoriety" the movement had gained through British attacks. By October 1917, Collins had risen to become a member of the executive of Sinn Féin and director of organisation of the Irish Volunteers; Éamon de Valera was president of both organisations
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