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In your command, if you personally demonstrate cowardice, it will spread like a flu pandemic throughout the troops in your charge. After that, your troops won't think twice about disobeying your orders as your alpha underlings each try to grab command and control of your troops. After a while you will have chaos and anarchy. The
United States, instead of using the intelligence it has to make some pre-emptive enemy camp strikes (the drones need more testing), and simultaneously shoring up its embassies with wider protective perimeters, extra military guards and better security checks in a show of "
WE ARE NOT AFRAID."
Having committed the unforgivable sin of backing off, we are feeding the beast that is terrorism by letting it terrorize us, and letting it control our activities worldwide.
How can a president expect to maintain national order with this type of policy -- folding up our tents and umbrellas because it looks like its getting stormy, instead of digging in and bringing the horror to them - to their madrassas - to their training camps - to their embassies. I know that some of you who are not use to my style at
The Taking Command Blog, will find my analogies and metaphors disconcerting, but we are having pebbles thrown at us by sand-dwelling lunatics, while we stand helpless atop the highest hill -- why don't we start and avalanche of stones?
You cannot, in your walk as a commander or leader, ever yield to a threat -- because once you have, you will have lost everything that you once had that was worth defending. When someone puts the tip of a lit cigarette on your tender forearm, you do the best you can to escape -- but you come back with a flamethrower and destroy everything that he holds dear. There are really no rules in war, either physical or psychological. The objective is to win, with as little loss of life and property on your side as possible.
Is our nation's leadership simply cowardly, or just helplessly ill-equipped? Either one makes for great rejoicing among the terrorists who have changed
the US way of life since 9/11. They are winning. They have us on the defensive, up against the ropes. Our thinking, our tactics, our strategy and our will, our
commitment to remain free (as free as we can be ) have to change. Immediately.
After the
Benghazi affair, which needlessly and callously cost several decent
Americans their lives, and which was a clear demonstration of poor utilization of well-gathered field intelligence, a lack of any responsiveness, and a show of just how unimportant lives are when politicians are busily advancing their own agendas. It was a study in poor judgment and poorer values.
In the wake of that tragedy, with intelligence informing us of very credible, imminent threats to the safety of our
embassies in many parts of the
Islamic and non-
Islamic world, and with terrorists emboldened by our failure at Benghazi, and by our obvious domestic and overseas
security checkpoint security protocol foul-ups (
Homeland Security, The Airports, The Boston Bombers, the
Fort Hood slaughter),
the U.S. embassy closures and travel warning has spurred an influx of media coverage, adding to the hype and counterintuitively, creating even more terror for the masses.
If we had the courage of command, we would shore up security using the military at each of those embassies, tighten perimeters, conduct intensive security checks, and leave them each proudly open, but obviously secured. We are looking increasing increasingly cautious and defensive instead of outraged and offensive -- and this is just what the enemy wants. Terrorists thrive on cowardice and fear. And sadly, since we apparently will not mobilize the resources to shore up those ambassadorial posts, we are, as the enemy sees it, running away -- afraid to fight.
War is just as psychological as it is physical.
The embassy closures are shameful and set a terrible precedent. But it is hard to disagree with the
State Department's edict when we know that our own political leadership is not dedicated to the task of showing strength - no, we are the loudest country with our empty threats about sanctions and so forth, but the first to run away from a burning building and leave our comrades behind.
It gets increasingly difficult to be proud of being a US citizen. That much is for certain. I believe as do my closest colleagues and confidantes that the best way to fight the war against terror is by combining our intelligence units with those of our few genuine allies (Mossad would be a fabulous addition), locating all of the terrorist training camps, and testing out drone strikes. Let them be terrified to train in the open. Let them close up shop and hide in spider holes underground. Bullies only victimize those they believe won't fight back. And the U.S. is encouraging terrorists to bully us. It's disgraceful.
Douglas E. Castle for
The Get Global Edge Blog and for
The TAKING COMMAND Blog.
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Labels, Tags, Categories, Keywords And Search Terms For This Article:
Homeland Security, Executive Protection, Muslim world, Al-Qaeda, Benghazi, terror, embassy closures, military intelligence, show of fear, defensive strategy, retreat instead of confront, GetGlobalEdge.com, political agendas, psychological warfare, failures of command and control, failure to act, courage and leadership, lack of unity in our protective purpose, DouglasECastleBlog.com, drone strikes, urban warfare, protecting Human assets and strategic positions, bullying, counterstrikes, rapid lethal response, when diplomacy won't work, espionage, the elements of surprise and overwhelming force, NSA, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, protection.
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MORE:
http://www.th.ceguardianom/commentisfree/2013/aug/05/embassy-closures-us-nsa
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/08/the-conspiracy-theory-nexus-of-glenn-beck-glenn-greenwald-and-alex-jones/
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-08-04/terror-threat-that-closed-embassies-called-credible-by-lawmakers
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