Big "W" or Little "w"

America's war record is either 4 wins 1 tie and 1 loss or 4-4-1 depending on whether you count big "W"'s Wars or little "w"'s Police Actions. The sole reason for our wins and our losses are tied to the same defining issue. When we engage the American People and earn their support for a WAR EFFORT we are unstoppable. So, clearly the historical answer to our current dilemma is to understand how to earn that support and hence "carry the day"!

Any objective analysis of these past successful War efforts witnessed these specific elements in common;

1) A defined enemy
2) A define objective
3) An accountability tied to those charged with the execution of the objective
4) A leader who communicated these elements in a clear and uncompromising manner

All George "W" Bush (you decide if he is a Big or Little "W") needs to do is;

1) Articulate with repeated clarity...The enemy is "Extremists Muslims"!
2) Articulate with repeated clarity...appeasers and sympathizers to this enemy are by definition also our enemy.
3) Articulate with repeated clarity...The war objective is to identify, vanquish and subdue enough of the extremists to allow the moderates to come out of hiding and assert themselves.
4) Truly set a battle plan and deploy sufficient resources to achieve the objective (which also means attack the enemy where they are, not where we would like them to be).
5) Hold the Dept. Of Defense execs. accountable for the execution of the War (big "W" plan and establish, communicate and hold them accountable for a timeline). Which also means taking the self-imposed restrictions off the military.
6) Ask the American people to accept sacrifice and solicit their support while a true war is waged toward a definitive and successful conclusion.

The American People have historically stepped-up and have always been prepared to accept anything in the short term provided the sacrafice was tied to a true plan for success. Spilling blood is a dangerous business and should not be confused with "police actions"... an enterprise for which we have historically "sucked at".

They will not accept, support or oblige an open-ended quagmire which asks that we turn a blind eye to War's necessary evils with no clear objective or tangible end game.

Leadership in this arena requires direct, consistent and logical communication. The military can handle the rest and the public will support a goal-oriented, sound strategy for dealing with this 21st century menace.

The tragedy is that someone else (meaning the USA) has to help the moderates find their collective courage to engage what is described as a fringe minority. With Islam comprised of 1.2 billion people, you would think that they could handle their own extremists without our help. We handle ours...We allow them to rant and rave until they cross the legal line. Perhaps the genesis for this extremist behavior is rooted in a yen for the 4th century lifestyle, but I tend to think the true root lives in the tyranny and oppression of the supposed "moderates" in Arabia who place the masses into squalor which breeds contempt for the "haves" vs. The "have nots".

In the end if there is a majority of moderate Islamic people out there, they will have to step up to subdue their own or ultimately be pushed back into the darkness of 400 A.D.

In the meantime, our goal should be to protect our shores and our friends from the collateral damage of this civil strife...You know like...Knowing who is crossing your border!

So no little "w"'s if you please!