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.