.The U.S. Air Force Declares War! (On the Army, the Marines, and the Navy)
Good to know that with the U.S. locked into two ground battles with Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Air Force doesn't take its eye off the ball: the budget. And here we were, thinking "strategic communication" meant the effort to win hearts and minds. Apparently it does, but those "hearts and minds" belong to Congressmen and defense contractors. (Click image to enlarge, and, if you have relatives who deployed to Iraq without proper body armor, prepare to be sickened by the winner-takes-all sentiment you encounter.)
There is just so much going on here, but following the USAF's unique understanding of strategic communication, how about let's start with the phrase "Returning the Air Force to Prominence in the National Security Arena." Well now there's a worthy goal! Throw out your copies of Clausewitz, because apparently national defense institutions have a new, more noble purpose: to ensure their own success in winning a slice of the budget. What really matters is not defeating the enemy fighting force or accomplishing policy objectives through the application of force but rather making sure that your branch is most favored in the Department of Defense budget.
Jesus Nuts, we deserve to lose every war we fight. Some guys living in caves in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or sleeping on the floors of apartments in Baghdad and Karachi are laughing their asses off right now.
Update: Abu Muqawama should have mentioned, as one of his readers did, that the flyer spoke of the "Budget Battle" being a "Zero Sum Gain." Whatever the hell that is. We can guess, anyway, what they mean. Somehow, Bill Chambers rose to be a Major General in the U.S. Air Force. It certainly wasn't due to his mastery of the English Language. Or by being a team player.
Update II: Small Wars Journal saw this too. And one reader complains the U.S. Army has used its Iraq and Afghanistan needs to push through funding for the FCS. Which, if true, is a fair criticism of the Army.
Wired
There is just so much going on here, but following the USAF's unique understanding of strategic communication, how about let's start with the phrase "Returning the Air Force to Prominence in the National Security Arena." Well now there's a worthy goal! Throw out your copies of Clausewitz, because apparently national defense institutions have a new, more noble purpose: to ensure their own success in winning a slice of the budget. What really matters is not defeating the enemy fighting force or accomplishing policy objectives through the application of force but rather making sure that your branch is most favored in the Department of Defense budget.
Jesus Nuts, we deserve to lose every war we fight. Some guys living in caves in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or sleeping on the floors of apartments in Baghdad and Karachi are laughing their asses off right now.
Update: Abu Muqawama should have mentioned, as one of his readers did, that the flyer spoke of the "Budget Battle" being a "Zero Sum Gain." Whatever the hell that is. We can guess, anyway, what they mean. Somehow, Bill Chambers rose to be a Major General in the U.S. Air Force. It certainly wasn't due to his mastery of the English Language. Or by being a team player.
Update II: Small Wars Journal saw this too. And one reader complains the U.S. Army has used its Iraq and Afghanistan needs to push through funding for the FCS. Which, if true, is a fair criticism of the Army.
Wired
posted by madtom at 1:06 AM
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