Bureaucracy Our Real Enemy

If want to see why the US military is being humilated in Iraq, go over to Tech Central Station and take a look at Richard Weitz's latest article.: "Back to Africa." Weitz thinks that the successful US airstrikes against Al Qaeda and its allies in Somalia necessitate the formation of a dedicated African Command at the Pentagon and an increased US military presence in Africa. Weitz is wrong the US is succeeding in Somalia because its strategy in that nation is not hampered by an Africa command or interference from the Pentagon. Our military is succeeding in Somalia because it is limiting its mission to the eminently sensible goal of liquadating Al Qaeda while leaving the policing of Somalia to our allies in that nation. Our forces are free to hunt down and wipe out the real bad guys in Somalia because the politicians and bureuacrats aren't there to get in their way. If we follow Mr. Weitz's advice and establish a US Africa Command we'll see our victories on that continent evaporate and our forces bogged down in useless colonial wars there. This would occur because the purpose of the US Africa Command would not be to fight and win a war but to increase its budget and build a bureaucratic empire. The Africa Command would plan missions to maximize the resources it could deploy and its own budget. Instead of wiping out Al Qaeda strongholds, the Africa Command would be planning for major operations in Darfur, Nigeria and elsewhere that would involve thousands of troops and hundreds of vehicles. The bureaucrats would be able to increase their money and contractors would make a lot of money, but neither US national security or the lives of average Africans would be improved. If the situation in Iraq is anything to go by the actions of the US Africa Command would make things worse for average civilians on the ground not better. The Africa Command would also be at the mercy of politicians who'd deploy it's troops in ways designed to win votes. Conservative Christians would probably deploy troops to protect missionaries and African Christians from imaginary Islamic threats while African American politicans would demand US forces defend whatever socialist kook is the present darling of the political left. Hopefully, common sense will prevail in Washington and the generals and politicans won't listen to the bureaucratic empire builders who now have their eyes on Africa.