August 23, 2006
by Robert T. Melaccio Sr.

Well we are all very aware of the current world situation. Iraq, Israel, Korea, Iran and other hot spots are gaining in the front pages around the world each day. It is certainly evident we are the target of those who wish our destruction and unfortunately in my opinion our so called allies, except for a few, have proven they do not have the stomach to join with us. If we look at the shortage of troops in Iraq, which is talked about daily, the shortage of equipment for the standing army and the reserves and recruitment activities we see we are woefully short in all aspects. That is not my opinion but that of many military experts. It is however, a fact we all wish to ignore.

Certainly an election is right around the corner and not the time for any politician to even think about it. Yet, in my opinion we average Americans better start to consider the overall picture besides these military shortages. Corporate layoffs, off shore farming out of jobs, poor wages, the moving of manufacturing to other countries, the use of illegal workers and a stressful economic environment for average Americans means there may need to get people off the street, employed and industry kicked up again. What better way to do that then the military and the Military Industrial Complex?

In my opinion I suspect we certainly are not going to see some pie in the sky corporate move in any of the critical sectors that will place people back in good paying jobs here in the U.S.A.! You hear about the low unemployment statistics but it doesn't count that at many of the jobs people cannot make a living wage, have no benefits and people have to work multiple jobs to survive. It doesn't consider those who are not even in their statistics. They come on T.V. each evening and can't seem to understand why people are upset with the economy when it is, in their words, booming. Booming we ask, but for who? Yes, they won't say it or speak it but we average Americans are hurting and those who have do not realize the magnitude of the hurt to the average person. How come the election blips all say that from these very same politicians? How can it be good on one side but they are going to make significant changes that need to be made on the other once they are elected?

Now I prefer to be wrong but people are growing tired of sending our loved ones off to never ending wars with no solutions. We are tired of allies who can't commit to assist while we carry the ball all the time. In any successful team environment the bench plays an important role. The sad fact is we have no bench! Rhetorically, why is this so hard for those in leadership to evidently grasp?

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Now no one disputes we are at war and that people want to destroy us. All one has to do is look at the dead, dying and wounded. No one disputes we need security and we need to be strong but we do dispute the degradation of the average Americans capabilities, which in many an average persons opinion, plays significantly into the degradation of the nations ability to support and carry the war effectively. Just who do these people ask when they ask the question `"how are you doing economically"? If any average American can say great, then evidently there are just a few of us that fit into the struggling mode and why all the worry? So, when government talks about the economy I suspect they never look at the average and poor, they look at numbers. Numbers mean nothing about real hardships just profits.

Now of course our leaders will tell you how strong we are in military technology and that is probably correct? But, and that is a big but, it seems we just might not have enough, as the military says" boots on the ground"! If this is true then there needs to be an increase in boots and I'm not talking quota's doing the job. Did not Israel just find this out the hard way? There is no "clean war". So they said in the movie "Patton" and as stated by general Patton, the idea- if I may paraphrase is "to kill the other poor _ _ _ before he kills you"! If they won't talk peace you have no alternative but to defend. I for one prefer all avenues of talk be explored first with all and then if it goes nowhere give them the options and be ready to use them.

So along with all the other major issues, in my opinion this one will fester quietly until we have one or two major crisis situations and then all of a sudden we will hear we have come to the realization we need to increase our military ground forces. I think we are about six to nine months away from that dialogue. I certainly hope I am wrong, yet as I say, when one looks at the entire picture you get the impression that the train is rolling. I can be wrong if peace can be worked out but as someone recently stated to me, have we not already tried all the words? Yes, true but have we with all?

If we haven't done everything we need to do to protect America, as many are saying, I envision no alternative given all factors. Like I said I hope I am wrong and they know better then we.

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Robert T. Melaccio Sr. [send him email] is a freelance writer.

Copyright © 2006 Robert Melaccio