May 18, 2010

As the world considers the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran, there is a lot of chatter not only among pundits but also among the national security establishment about our response. Many say that sanctions are ineffective to date and unlikely to cause Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions in the future. There is also a lot of discussion about the “military option” remaining on the table.

The problem with the public discussion of the “military option” to date is what is not being discussed. No one is asking about or talking about the Iranian response or its effect on the world and the Middle East economically, diplomatically or militarily.

The discussion implies that Iran will do nothing. However, a likely Iranian response might include closing shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, thus causing the price of oil to move from its current $75 per barrel to $200 plus per barrel, leading to a recession if not a depression. Iran could also have Hamas, Hezbollah and other allied terrorist organizations attack soft U.S. targets around the world to include those on U.S. soil. These targets could include European and Middle Eastern allies, leading to a much broader Middle East war. It will also hurt U.S. relations with the Muslim world if we were to attack or invade a third Muslim nation in a ten-year period. Finally, with the national debt soaring, can we afford it and will the Chinese government continue to be our banker if we use the money we borrow from them to have their cost of oil more than double?

Before we take Senator John McCain’s advice to “pull the trigger,” rational, responsible people should think through the consequences of their actions and recognize the well-known military rule…”The enemy has a vote.”

Few Are Shouldering the Burden of War

Sunday, November 29, 2009 3:39 AM

President Barack Obama will deliver a speech Tuesday to outline his strategy going forward in Afghanistan ("Obama to expand Afghan war effort," Associated Press article, Wednesday Dispatch). Pundits say he will try to convince the American people of its merits, and Obama has said, "I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive."
Americans have not been supportive since the war began. The war has been fought by a small segment of the population in an all-voluntary military, drawn overwhelmingly from the third and fourth socioeconomic quintiles of our nation, while the first quintile, the wealthy, powerful and well-connected, has been AWOL. Our military is filled through recruiting and retention bonuses, which I do not begrudge, and lowered age, physical-fitness, education and moral standards. We pay for these wars in funds borrowed from the Chinese, while they invest in their infrastructure and secure natural resources around the world, while our infrastructure and manufacturing base crumble.
We pass the bill for this choice onto our children and grandchildren: an act of fiscal cowardice. A responsible national dialogue on Afghanistan should include the resumption of mandatory universal military service and a war surtax to pay the costs as they are incurred.
If we are unwilling to make these two issues a central element of the Afghanistan strategy, we will continue to be a nation of "chicken hawks" and intergenerational freeloaders unable to say, "All gave some; some gave all," but doomed to say, "Some gave all; most gave nothing, absolutely nothing."

DENNIS LAICH Retired Major General, United States Army
Powell

Afghanistan Speech Leaves Unanswered Questions

The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
Date: Saturday, December 12 2009

President Barack Obama 's exquisitely delivered "Way Forward in Afghanistan" speech on Dec. 1 reminded me of Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. In that novel, Holmes solves the mystery based on what did not happen. The hound did not bark, therefore the murderer must have been known to the famous canine. Before the speech, Obama said, "I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive." In fact, he failed to address six critical questions that did not "bark":

* How will we pay for the additional 30,000 troops? The incremental cost is $30 billion per year on top of the $75 billion we are already spending in Afghanistan. The national debt is now $12 trillion. One might ask: What is a greater threat to U.S. national security, the Taliban controlling Afghanistan or the Chinese saying they will no longer buy U.S. Treasury bills?

* What is the critical national-security interest in Afghanistan? If it is to deny al-Qaida safe haven, what is to keep them from continuing to operate in Pakistan or in Somalia, Yemen or Indonesia? Does this strategy imply that we will invade these countries next? Al-Qaida is a global terrorist organization that does not recognize national borders.

* Are we fighting a counterinsurgency against the Taliban or anti-terrorism against al-Qaida? The two are vastly different campaigns with different costs, tactics, geographic scope, intelligence requirements and implications for alliances. Or, are we trying to do both and in so doing driving the Taliban and al-Qaida to alliances with one another? The best current estimate of U.S. intelligence agencies is that there are approximately 100 al-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan.

* How committed is NATO? Of the 7,000 additional troops promised by NATO, 1,500 are already in Afghanistan, sent months ago to bolster security during the presidential election. Two allies, Canada and the Netherlands, still plan to withdraw 5,000 troops in the next two years, offsetting the increase. Additionally, an undisclosed number of new troops will steer clear of any fighting because they are barred by their governments from combat operations, and many of the rest are barred from any nighttime combat operations. Only the British and Australians have rules of engagement similar to the U.S. One might also question whether Pakistan is a helpful ally in this effort, evidence to date strongly suggests that it is not. Finally, civilian support to nation-building and distribution of humanitarian aid is ineffective due to a lack of security, organization, unified leadership and funding.

* Is the Afghan national army capable of becoming viable? The plan is to increase the Afghan army from its current strength of 92,000 to 134,000 by 2011 to facilitate a U.S. exit. The implication in the president's speech is that additional U.S. trainers will enable this growth. He assumes that young Pashtun tribesmen, 75 percent to 90 percent of whom are illiterate, will sign up to fight and die in support of the corrupt, ineffective narco-state known as the Karzai government and put their families in jeopardy of Taliban reprisals in their absence. This goal also ignores the current 30 percent desertion rate in the Afghan army. Finally, President Hamid Karzai has stated that it will be 15 to 20 years before Afghanistan is capable of self-defense without U.S. assistance.

* What is the effect on the U.S. military? In 2005, military analysts inside and outside of the Pentagon were asking whether the Army and Marine Corps were simply stressed or on the verge of breaking. In the interim, deployment cycles have remained rapid. Suicides, drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder and divorce rates in the military have increased. At the same time, the military's initial entry standards for age, physical fitness, education and moral conduct have been lowered. An "all-volunteer" military vision of excellence may have been compromised by an unrelenting, unshared burden. Given this, could the U.S. mount a credible military response in Iran, Korea, the Taiwan Strait or to a significant attack on the U.S. homeland?
I believe these are critical questions that, if Sherlock Holmes were president, he would have asked. Knowing that these questions did not "bark" in the president's speech makes it difficult for many Americans to justify his stated confidence that they will be supportive.

DENNIS J. LAICH \ U.S. Army, retired \ Powell

About The State of Diversity Today

The Army Times published my letter on 12-03-09:


Letter to the Editor: The Army Times, Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Laich (ret.)
"A policy of delusion"
Letter to the editor
December 7, 2009
The Army Times

As news media reported the tragic events at Fort Hood, Texas, I read with particular interest the comments of Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff. He said, “Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as the tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.”

He expressed the legitimate concerns of a senior leader. However, I find his comments ironic at best and hypocritical at worst given that the Army legitimizes discrimination and bludgeons diversity every day as it executes its don’t ask, don’t tell policy, which forces the 65,000 patriots currently serving in our military to hide or lie about their own identity.

It is also an affront to those 13,000 veterans separated under this policy, many of whom were combat veterans or had critical skills. Don’t ask, don’t tell is a policy of delusion that acknowledges that gays and lesbians serve in our military but pretends they’re not there.

In the spirit of his expressed concerns regarding protecting diversity in our Army, I would urge Gen. Casey to aggressively advocate for the repeal of don’t ask, don’t tell. Diversity is best supported by the courageous expression of truth.

— Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Laich (ret.), Powell, Ohio

Retired Major General Dennis Laich, AUS Laich had a distinguished 35-year career in the Army Reserve, 14 of which were spent in various command positions, the last as commander of the 94 th Regional Readiness Command in Ft. Devens, MA. His business career began in 1972 with Corning Glass Works and included positions with LTV Steel and Navistar International.

Laich holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Lafayette College, and master’s degrees from West Virginia University and St. Francis College in Business Administration and Labor Relations. He completed postgraduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and is a graduate of the Army War College.

He is currently serving as Ohio Dominican’s PATRIOTS Program Director. General Laich is the University’s support liaison for veterans applying for the PATRIOTS program, providing one-on-one assistance and linking them with resources they need to meet their educational goals.