Boots on the Ground

When I read the headlines that said Obama ruled out land invasion of Libya, I knew we were in trouble.

First, when someone like the president has to categorically deny the military or Congress or anyone will do or not do something, then it seems inevitable. Remember, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

It is as if these promises were set up to be broken.

It’s not that I want the U.S. to get involved in a third war when we already have two on our hands that seem to be lingering on and on. Now, we add Libya to the mix, drop some bombs and swear we aren’t putting boots on the ground.

As a side note, I’m all for F-15 fighter jets dropping bombs on evil dictators and ruining the reign of totalitarian governments, but bombs and air strikes don’t win wars – or “conflicts,” if that’s what they want to call it. Good old fashion combat, land take-over, last-man-standing is the stuff that brings out the winners.

There’s a perfect example in history (this is where we can learn a lot, if our leaders would just look to the past). The Battle of Stalingrad shows air power and endless bombs don’t work. Nazi Germany and its allies, dropped bomb after bomb, completely destroying the city. It was in ruins and the battle is among the bloodiest in the history of warfare.

However, after the bombs, the people would crawl out of the rubble and give the Nazi’s the Russian equivalent of the middle finger and go on surviving. The battle, which lasted about six months, almost reached a breaking point when the Nazi’s sent in troops. The harsh winter and the resolve of the people proved to be too much for the ill-equipped and starving Nazi soldiers.
Moreover, that was the turning point of the entire war, making a German victory in the East impossible.

Back to Libya. While bombs and air raids show power, how does it break the resolve of people who live, rule and have power, control and authority in the land. I hope the air raids work. I hope the bombs send the right message. I hope the torture and cruelty ends soon. Based on Afghanistan and Iraq, I don’t think that will be the case. Based on Vietnam, Korea and World War II, I think that is a far-fetched idea.

Maybe someone should point that out to the President, or whoever is telling him to categorically deny we will put troops on the ground.

Staci Dennis lives in Norfolk, VA, is married to Eric, who is awesome, and has a fat cat and two cute Puggles. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines across the nation, and worked as a reporter for 12 years. She is a contributor for Nexxt, realestatejobsiteblog.com, educationjobsiteblog.com and armedservicesjobsblog.com.