The money is desperately needed elsewhere
When I crossed the border into Iraq in 2003, leading a 30-man platoon as part of the 4th Infantry Division, I had spent years training and focusing all of my efforts on re-fighting the first Gulf War. Our doctrine was based on lessons learned over a decade earlier. Had we been part of Operation Desert Storm, I am sure we would have been wildly successful. But the war we entered, which we were only able to leave with heads held high nearly a decade later, was not our uncle’s war. This wasn’t the fault of our hardworking men and women in uniform, struggling against an unseen insurgency from the first months of the war. Rather, our struggles resulted directly from a failure of vision and strategic planning at the highest levels.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Truman National Security Project or Educational Institute.
