The picture at left isn’t a “Happy Thanksgiving” image.  I apologize for that.  It is, however the reality of what our brave servicemen and women face every day when they are in an active combat zone. We must never forget that fact.  That unrealistic “Rules of Engagement” put their lives even more at risk is unaccetable by any measure.

On June 28,1919 the “Treaty of Versailles” was signed, which brought a formal end to what came to be known as “World War I” or “The War to end All Wars”.  Because of the harsh and vindictive terms imposed on Germany by that document, a tyrant much worse than Kaiser Wilhelm arose in Germany.  His name was Adolph Hitler, and because of his beliefs, and his ability to persuade the German public to follow him, in September of 1939, only 20 years after the Treaty of Versailles, the world was once again at war.

That was the last conflict our nation can truly be said to have won, decisively and unconditionally.  There were no so-called “Rules of Engagement” imposed by civilian politicians on our military forces.   Our country, and the rest of the Free World, was under the imminent threat of defeat and subjugation by the “Axis” forces of Germany, Japan and Italy.   It was simply a matter of win or die, kill or be killed, to obtain victory at whatever cost necessary,  to our armed forces or that of our enemies.  We killed and maimed men, women and children in the process.  Atrocities were committed on both sides, but we can only hope, far fewer by the Allied Forces than the Axis Powers.

In the years since the end of that awful war, we have sent our military into numerous “conflicts”, a politer term for war.  In all of them, we have at best fought our adversaries to a draw, but never gained full and complete victory.  Why, you might ask, since we have had the mightiest military at our disposal since the end of World War II, and could have, if we chose to, unleashed that power, and throughly defeated any of the opponents we faced?

It is simply because we have allowed politicians, and politically motivated Generals and Admirals, to introduce those restrictive  “Rules of Engagement”  which have prevented those on the ground, at the “Tip of the Spear” so to speak, from applying the force necessary to win.  We have become more concerned with “collateral damage” to civilians than to the safety and security of our military personnel.  Those attitudes, held by people in air-conditioned offices thousands of miles from the battlefield, have caused the death and maiming of hundreds of thousands of troops since the final gun was fired at the end of the Second World War.

It has been said that if the Generals and Admirals had to fight in the front lines with the troops they command, there would be no more wars.  That is certainly true if the politicians were in the front ranks of the “conflicts” they create.  The American people must understand that if politicians want us to go to war, we must give our military a task to accomplish and then allow it do do so without interference from them or armchair Generals safe and secure in the Capitol Building or the Pentagon.

One final thought. The Founding Fathers designated the President as the “Commander in Chief” of our military.  He, or possibly she in the future, has the authority to interpret and execute the various sections of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  If the Congress feels a President has abused those powers, then Constitutionally remove them from office. Baring that, get the hell out of their way, and let our magnificent volunteer military do it’s appointed job without further meddling by anyone.