Words of Wisdom from Ol' Blood and Guts Himself

General George S. Patton was probably the finest military commander the United States has ever produced.

Why? Because he understood the purpose of a military campaign. It's simply to kill the enemy, crush them without mercy, and make sure more of them die than us. It's not to police them, win their hearts and minds, or any of that stuff. Armies kill people and break things, and impose their will by the very force of arms. That's what they do. God bless them for that.

Here's a few words of wisdom from Ol' Blood and Guts himself. The guy was never a politician, and I love him for that reason. That's why he wasn't the President after WWII. And I think the way he was treated after he won such decisive victories broke his heart. Flametoad hyped me to this Wikipedia entry, and it was great fun reading it.

I don't think the war in Iraq is going quite as bad as what the stinking media leads us to believe. I think it could go a whole lot better if perhaps we applied what Patton taught. Instead of being policemen, use the military for its god-given purpose. Smash. Kill. Destroy, and demoralize. When the enemy has been whipped as thoroughly as Japan was in WWII, they'll quit or face eradication. Even as nuts as the Japs were in WWII, they saw their doom if they pursued the war any further. And they surrendered. It was their only option. They chose wisely.

Patton also understood what a fighting man fights for. In the abstract, they fight for their freedom, their families, and their way of life. When the guns start firing, they fight for the man beside them; their buddies.

That's why I think what our modern military is faced with is fatal to its very spirit. When a country prosecutes its military for killing the enemy, or even suspected enemy in a war zone, it's in trouble. It doesn't have the will to win. When a military hears from its political leaders that they don't believe in the war, and don't think the war is winnable, it's sunk. Ring any bells?

I think it's counterproductive (not to mention dangerous) to train men to fight and kill, send them off to battle, and then try and restrain them from fighting and killing an avowed enemy. It's stupid, dangerous, and asinine, all at once.

It's also ridiculous to expect them to act as policemen. Send policemen in to be policemen. Let the soliders be soliders.

What would Patton think about the way the War on Terror has been run? I shudder to contemplate what the man would be saying. But he'd be dead-right.

A war is the last, most terrible option a country can face. But once the decision has been made to utilize the military, let it go. Let it do what it does best. Let it kill the enemy until it surrenders, or is destroyed. Don't get in its way until the objective has been reached. And for the love of the almighty, don't forsake those warriors who have been sent into harm's way to do what must be done.