our adaptive military...
 

This is what I mean; look at this article.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/06/04/rumsfeld.asia.ap/index.html

SINGAPORE (AP) -- China's military buildup, particularly its positioning of hundreds of missiles facing Taiwan, is a threat to Asian security, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday.

Now - I don't know that China is a direct threat or a future threat for sure of course but it seems to me that out military is being pair down and simply prepared for our new kind of war - the war on terror. Which is a very disassociated war compared to your average every day battlefield war.

I've been watching what they are doing to the military in preparing to fight the war against unstructured threats (terrorists) and it seems to me like we're cutting our arms off in favor of our feet.

I work in the Network Security industry; we have a few basic principals with regards to fighting off intruders - it really is very war like and we have a number of different threats.

Unstructured: Terrorists

These threats are the constant buzz of the world's network trying to hack into our network. We get lots of simple recon scans from Asia and Europe and such and they are typically bots that are simply trying to get into the network. Not sophisticated at all. This catagory also contains those without the skills to adapt their attacks - script kiddies - folks that used canned hacks but don't know how they work.

Structured: This is a serious attack - someone is actively targeting our network. They are either trying to get in and steal data or trying to cripple our network so we can't do business. This is a direct - adaptable assualt. They are fewer and farther between. Those who perpetuate them are very smart and quick and can adapt their attack based on what they see in response from me.

Internal; From inside the network - either two types.

External; From outside - etc etc...

Now - in my job I have to be prepared to fight both wars - I have to have the tools and the training to fight both wars.

So does our military; Am I the only one that thinks our military is getting paired down in an unintelligent way? It seems to me that we are preparing very well for that unstructured threat and sacrificing our ability to fight a real structured war. Granted - I've read a lot of recent news reports and heard a lot about the training our boys are getting and I think it is likely some of the best ever. I also really like how the younger officers seem to be getting more authority in the field but that simply may be a product of an active war.

I very concerned in what I see as our national defense only have the skills to fight one kind of war. Now; I don't want any kind of war but we need to be able to defend ourselves like any good empire should.

How dare you discuss fighting terrorism from a logical and defensive position.

The bush-war method appears to be attacking and invading nations that don't pose a threat to us in order to control strategic parts of the world. If a few terrorists are killed in the process victory will be declared. If mostly third world insurgents are killed, they will be labeled terrorists. Now that our military is strapped with expanding the empire our more capable rivals can get away with almost anything they want since the US is now less able to project its power anywhere they want.

As far as china goes, as long as US leaders continue to use whats left of our economy to develop china's economy and as they develop their military and space programs there could come a time that they surpass us as the world's top superpower.

Re: our adaptive military...
 

Here is the difference; you are "fighting off" intruders, off of your turf - not fighting a war.

A war is either defensive (like the one you fight), or one composed of offensive attacks (like the hackers wage).

If you believe in the motto: We fight them there so we won't have to fight them here.....................then you might be delusional and a republican.

Homeland security is a joke, preparing for more attacks using airplanes (again) is not going to do much to protect us. So we don't have a defensive at all to speak of.

If you think fighting a war from so-called secure "green zones" in Iraq is an offensive "war on terror" then it's back to the nut house for you.

Our military is killing people just like in Vietnam, no plan for winning is in sight - kill, kill, kill, what a great plan.

We can kill Chinese too, but it's going to take nukes and we still have those in abundance.

I know using my example doesn't exactly fly as a comparison to war but I was using it more as an example of why my skills must be diverse.

With regards to security we have to be diverse in our ability to ward off intrudes.

With regards to our military we have to be diverse to be able to engage in multiple types and theaters of battle. While it stands to reason our focus at the moment would be on learning how to win against an unstructured intruder removing our diversity in my opinon is a long term mistake that could cost us more than any dollar amount saved.