Adventures Across The Spectrum of Conflict

Bob Newman

I was an odd child, with an early indication of my oddity being my annoying demand for history teachers to discuss (after class) tactics, operational art and strategy as practiced by warriors from the legions of Rome to Marine rifle squads in the War in the Pacific. So it was no surprise to my family and teachers to one day learn I had joined the Marines.

As a “warfighting” instructor during my last tour in the Corps before retirement, I taught, among other topics, the spectrum of conflict, which details the differences between types of warfare. For example, toward the bottom of the scale are “low-intensity conflicts” or LICs, such as homegrown guerrilla insurgencies, and at the top of the scale is global thermo-nuclear war. In teaching about the spectrum, I always stressed the importance of selecting LICs to prosecute by determining if that LIC is in our national strategic interest and if we have a good chance of winning. Sadly, these are two factors that American supporters of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and others who pose a threat to our survival don’t get.

I am frequently asked by said supporters (also known as “Bush haters” and “fools”) why, if we liberated Iraq, we do not attack all tyrants and terrorists everywhere. The reason, I explain to these transparent simpletons, is that such a game plan is politically, logistically, tactically, operationally and strategically impossible, and that not all tyrants and terrorists are serious threats to Americans and America. I also point out that a nation must prioritize its military engagements. So, when the wild-eyed leftists ask me why we don’t invade North Korea, I explain that the North Koreans are strongly believed to have nuclear weapons that can reach not only Seoul and Tokyo, but the West Coast of the United States, the residents of which would prefer not be on the receiving end of a retaliatory strike by North Korea. They become very confused when I explain that wars should be last resorts, that North Korea is still negotiating with us, and that they have no plans to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike on us or our allies.

The leftists really hate it when U.S. military action not only removes a maniacal, genocidal savage like Hussein and brutal regimes like the Taliban. And the wacko left goes bonkers when such actions result in terrorist-tyrants like Libya’s Ghadafi publicly quitting the WMD game, not wanting to be next on our list of scum to be dealt with once and for all. The left cringes when one successful war leads to another, which results in a third war being avoided but a threat nevertheless being neutralized.

Many leftists are screaming that because we liberated Iraq and Afghanistan, we should also have to invade Haiti and Congo, neither of which is a threat to the United States or Americans, nor our allies abroad, and neither of which is of strategic interest to us. That’s the cold way of the world and nothing’s going to change that.

We need to continue selecting the right targets at the right times and ignore the maniac leftists who live in Fantasyland, where John Kerry is their socialist king.
If Kerry’s radical left comes to power, as bin Laden is desperately hoping, we will pay dearly in the spectrum of conflict.

Hang on to your helmet.

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Winner of a 2002 National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (terrorism and homeland security), Bob Newman is the host of the "Bob Newman Show" & "Newman Report" on AM 850 KOA in Denver. A retired U.S. Marine, Mr. Newman is recognized as one of the world's most respected authorities on counterterrorism and special operations, and has appeared on numerous national television news programs and nearly every network. The author of 21 books and thousands of articles and columns that have appeared in dozens of publications, is the Director of Counterterrorism Programs for BSI2000, Inc., and is a counterterrorism consultant to industry and governments. His latest book is Trenches and Hard-Points, a Gulf War novel based upon true events.
bobnewmancomm@msn.com