I’m
writing this blog days after the most recent attack in Brussels.This attack, similar to the attacks in Paris
and San Bernadino were carried out against innocent civilians and proved yet
again that the world has become a much more dangerous place as the US has taken
a back seat and failed to take any real action against one of the most
dangerous enemies the world has ever known.This enemy does did not earn this status because of its technology,
weaponry or even the size of its army. They earned it by inflicting terror,
brutality and a disregard for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness onto
humanity. We are at war with “Radical
Islam.”The scariest and probably most
unsettling thing about this war is that unlike wars of the past we are not
fighting for territories, resources, or power. We are at war for our WAY OF LIFE, our freedom of speech, religion,
equality and human rights. Unfortunately
when the stakes could not be any higher, only one side is fighting like they
want to win. What might be even more
startling is that many of our countries leaders refuse to even recognize the
enemy by name, or completely underestimate them and refer to them as JV. Anyone who has studied warfare understands
how important it is to “know your enemy” and never underestimate them. The study of warfare will also quickly teach
you that in most conflicts there are offensive and defensive tactics and
postures. As a former special operator
accustomed to playing offense and taking the fight to the enemy, on our terms,
on our time line and refusing to fight fair I will share with you why it is so
important to reverse course, put boots back on the ground and take the fight
back to the enemy.
People
often ask me what I think about the 2 wars our country was recently engaged
in. I often won’t answer them
directly.I usually answer this question
with a question.Did you notice that
when US forces were overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan you didn’t see or hear of
one major attack on US soil?Some think
about the question and answer truthfully, “yes, I did notice.” Some of the more convicted and oblivious act
as if I’m avoiding the question altogether and plow right into their talking
points. Whether or not they noticed, there
were no major terrorist attacks on US soil while we were taking the fight to
the enemy in their own back yard. And it’s
really simple. They couldn’t attack us here.They were running scared for their lives over there. Their time and
resources were spent on fighting us in their cities and avoiding death or capture.I happen to know for a fact that many of the
higher ranking enemy wouldn’t even spend 2 nights in the same bed.They were always on the move.Their daily lives and behaviors were altered
and disrupted because of our aggressive posture and resolve to hunt them down
in every nook and cranny of the globe. Quite
simply they were playing defense.
I remember when I became a SEAL and having
conversations with my parents who were proud of the accomplishment but indeed
worried for my safety. I explained to
them that as special operators we actually have one of the safer jobs in a war
zone.Sure we were engaging and hunting
the worst of the enemy on a nightly basis but we were doing it again on our
terms and stacking the deck so heavily in our favor that 99% of the time there
were no shots fired on target. We
consistently rolled in at a time of our choosing, with a well thought out plan
and surprised our enemy to the point that fighting back was a certain death
sentence.I always felt bad for our brothers
and sisters standing guard at checkpoints, day in and day out.They were absolutely on the defense and were
forced to be reactive (which is one of the reasons they had one of the most
dangerous jobs on the battle field).They were stationary and very easy targets.Sure enough after several years of sitting
back and letting our enemies build up their resources,recruit fresh fighters, and plan new
assaults, you are now again seeing major
attacks around the globe and even on US soil on a very regular basis.It is not a phenomenon.It’s actually cause and effect.
I
hate playing world police as much as the next service member and became
extremely disappointed in the way we were turning over control and pulling out
of Iraq in the final years.My final
deployment as a SEAL was in 2010.I was
stationed in Fallujah and we all knew that it was far from over and that it
never really would be with this enemy. Of
course I was looking forward to getting out and going home and spending time
with my family but I remember telling many people that we would soon start to
see attacks against the homeland again now that there would inevitably be a
shift in this war as our leadership had made the choice to pull all of our
armed forces out of the region.People often dread the thought of sending our
young men and women into harm’s way.You
really can’t blame them. There is no
doubt that Americans wanted the wars to end and for good reason. But I hope they begin to see the cause and
effect in the offensive and defensive postures. The cold hard truth is this. Whether our country goes back on the
offensive and takes the fight to our enemies or takes a defensive posture and
attempts to prevent future attacks.You
have seen that both strategies result in Americans and our allies alike being
killed.I will take the liberty of
speaking for my brothers and sisters in uniform and say that we would much
rather carry the burden of losing each other and even our own lives then see
our friends and families die and loose innocent civilians to pure evil. Again I am not talking about playing world
police and spreading democracy. I am
talking about being the aggressor and taking the fight back to a most brutal
enemy who has vowed to continue their reign of terror against anyone who does
not adopt and conform to their way of life and religion.This cannot be done with air strikes
alone. We must put boots on the ground,
re-establish our intelligence and be strategic.
This
war is not a sprint. It is absolutely a
marathon. As we kill radical Muslim extremists, more will
pop up and take their place. We cannot
become complacent and we must resist the urge to make the mistake of taking our
boot off of their throat again and pulling back.We must continue to take this fight to their
cities, their homes, and their back yards. I hate to say it but I predict that our children, grandchildren and the
generations to come will inherit this fight with this global cancer. Their chances of peace and survival largely
depend on the very posture we assume today.If we fail to take the fight to the enemy now and get this cancer back
on the run and weakened, it just might become so out of control that it might
destroy everything we hold so dear.
