How Democrats Can Utilize the Nine Principles of War
Tue Feb 20, 2007 at 02:05:24 PM PDT
Republicans like to see themselves as the party of martial competence. They love to portray Democrats as weepy, tree-hugging, weaklings. In doing so, they talk condescendingly down to America about how they are the ones who really know how to protect us. But this is a fallacy that doesn’t really hold up under scrutiny. They swiftboated John Kerry even though he’d actually Commanded Troops in Combat, and they’ve ordained John McCain as a military guru, even though he is one who has Never Commanded Troops in Combat. McCain is seen as a military expert, despite the fact that his military experience consisted of flying an airplane, getting shot down, and being taken prisoner. While I sympathize with him as a former combatant myself, his limited ground combat experience doesn’t give him the credibility to talk down to people like General Abizaid as if they were military neophytes.
Anyway, it’s time for Democrats to take the military high ground from the Republicans once and for all. To do that, they could start by following the nine Principles of War devised by the U.S. Army.
Democrats should aggressively take the offensive on rhetoric over and handling of the war. They’ve been inching toward this in recent days, with John Murtha’s plan to restrict war appropriations and the announcement on Saturday by Harry Reid that this war has been "the worst foreign policy mistake in U.S. history." I like what I’m seeing so far and consider myself cautiously impressed. But I want to see more. With Americans so opposed to the war in Iraq, it would make sense from both a moral standpoint and a practical one.
Therefore, if one were to consider this a "war" between Democrats and Republicans, then it would also make sense to utilize the nine Principles of War devised by the U.S. Army. And because they’re just principles, you don’t need actual bullets or tanks to use them. They work just fine in the metaphorical sense.
Here they are, the nine Principles of War as they could and should be used by the Democrats:
- Objective
Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective.
As it essentially is already, extracting U.S. forces from Iraq should be the Democratic objective. The objective should be centered on the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities within a year. That needs to be the Democratic mantra: "Out of Iraq within a year." Now, techniques for achieving this can be left up to individual Democrats or to specific bills. But the focused message needs to be the same: "Out of Iraq within a year."
- Offensive
Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
I find it hard to describe how tired I am of seeing Democrats on the defensive with regard to national security. Here’s what I want to see:
Republican: "Cutting the funding hurts the troops."
Democrat: "Fuck you, you irresponsible, reckless, cover-blowing traitors! That doesn’t even make sense! Is it Orwellian double-speak? We need to support the troops by keeping them entrenched in a bloody quagmire? YOU'RE the ones who got our troops in this mess in the first place! Cutting the funding allows them to come home, rebuild, and re-focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan—where they should have been all along. Don’t give me that crap about 'hurting the troops.' No one has done more damage to our troops since Vietnam than YOU! You! You! You!"
Democrats need to go on the attack a la Harry Reid who recently called this war "the worst foreign policy mistake in U.S. history." There needs to be more of that. I also want to see more Senators and Representatives going on their own diplomacy missions. So W and Condi won’t talk to the Iranians? Fuck you, then. We will. I want to see more American politicians heading over to Syria to deal with Assad, and maybe even to Iran.
Democrats also need to take the 9/11 meme away from Republicans. "Where’s Osama bin Laden, you chickenhawk cowards? Huh? You keep bringing up 9/11. 9/11. 9/11. Well...where is he? Oh, that’s right! He’s in Pakistan! Because you failed and took us into Iraq. Democrats need to ram this down Republicans’ throats on a daily basis.
- Mass
Concentrate the effects of combat power at the decisive place and time.
It would be nice to see the Democrats unite around Murtha’s plan to tie war funding to troop readiness. Get everybody on board. Then start separating Republicans from the herd to get them to join in. Then go on a media blitz about how this is "A Plan to Support the Troops." And keep saying it over and over and over. Because it’s true.
- Economy of Force
Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
Besides the war, we have other pressing needs like healthcare, education, and the minimum wage. But all of these are currently being held hostage by the war. We can’t pay for education when we’re spending a trillion dollars on the war. Therefore, the Democrats need to put these other issues on the backburner until the war issue is settled. It’s the one thing that’s sucking all the oxygen out of the other important issues.
- Maneuver
Place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the flexible application of combat power.
This has John Murtha written all over it. His plan is a perfect example of this. Further, Democrats need to use the bully pulpit. They need to be relentless with hearings, as I have no doubt they will continue to be. But moreover, they need to publicly follow-up on questions not answered by the President’s cabinet. So Alberto Gonzales didn’t have an answer for Senator Leahy during a hearing? And he still hasn’t gotten back to the Senator after promising an answer within a week? If you’re Senator Leahy, you need to hold a press conference about that dumpy, torture-supporting chickenhawk. You need to call the media and tell them to meet you on the Capitol steps in fifteen minutes. Then, you need to look into the camera and tell America that Bush’s buddy thinks he doesn’t have to answer to the people.
But let’s say Cabinet Member X does come back with an answer to a requested question from a hearing. And let’s say it’s a bunch of administration, neo-con, double-speak garbage. Then the Senator or Representative needs to come out with that too. They need to start publicly accusing the Bush administration of evading pertinent questions, as they are so wont to do.
- Unity of Command
For every objective, ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander.
These efforts need to be spearheaded by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. To that end, they need to focus on being aggressive. They need to think audacity. It’s what people respect. And it’s what we expect.
- Security
Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage.
This means that the Democrats need to be squeaky clean. No scandals. No instant messaging with Congressional pages. No bribe taking. No hiding of said bribes in freezers. No making out with interns. No prostitutes. No free flights from lobbyists. None of that.
- Surprise
Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
See Jim Webb for this one. Do you think the Republicans were prepared for the news that a freshman Senator had just refused to shake the hand of the President? I don’t. And that’s why it made the news. By rebuffing the President less than a month after being elected, Senator Webb put both the President and the Republicans on notice—and he also solidified his base of support in the blogoshpere. The act served to galvanize Democrats.
I want to see more of this. Democrats can remain civil with their Republican peers, but, as shown by Senator Webb, they need to stop taking crap from undeserving morons like the President and his minions.
- Simplicity
Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
The old acronym KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) applies here. In this case, it’s the war in Iraq. War. War. War. Democrats need to make their message all about the war. By ending it, we free up billions and billions of dollars to be used on other programs. Oh, and we also stop getting our soldiers killed, repair our image around the globe, and maybe even have enough troops and equipment to go get that guy responsible for 9/11. What was his name again?
