[D9 (RIP)]

Seriously, we need to wake up to the state of the world today.

We need to realize that we are, effectively, a World War. True, we do not face a uniformed national enemy with a nasty dictator to put a face on the entirety of the movement that opposes us. Instead, we are in a struggle with a whole gaggle of petty opportunists. While they may not share a common ideology and uniform, they are united in their opposition to US power - and especially to its projection into their spheres.

We could easily list a few:

1. the obvious first choice - militant Islam - which is not embodied in any specific nation but rather is a cultural trend across North and East Africa, the Middle-East, parts of the Far East and Europe.

2. Russian nationalism - an eclectic blend of nostalgic yearning by the people for the "glory" of the heady days Stalin's eminence among the starving, terrorized masses. There is some kind of general psychological problem with a public that prefers to be a feared "world power" at the expense of their liberty and well-being. And of course there is always a Putin willing to step in and try to make it happen.

3. South American Neo-Marxism - as emblematized by the luminary Hugo Chavez, Left-leaning anti-American regimes are the universal trend in SA save Colombia.

4. China - Olympics aside, every Chinese move towards Liberalism is met with an equal or greater reinforcement of the state. They have been no real help in our enduring stand-off w/ N Korea, instead milking and Realpolitiking the situation for favors as it has suited their interests.

There are others.

We are accustomed to thinking of World Wars as consisting of great power(s) vs. great power(s). We have to recognize that a great power against a pack of small nations, united in their opposition to us, is just as dangerous or more so.

There are those who suggest that we solve this problem be sinking down into the mire and trying to beat these countries at their own game. Play 'em against each other, etc. There are people in this country who are adept at this kind of thing, but as a nation we are not, nor have we ever been, the masters of subterfuge and duplicity that would facilitate navigating the tumultuous water of international diplomacy and intrigue ahead of the likes of a Putin. Most of these heads of state come from cutthroat backgrounds in intelligence or outright crime. We should not play them at their game.

We must re-militarize the way we did in 1941. We must become more dangerous and confrontational with these elements in the world, recognizing that the concept of enemy can transcend the nation-state, be embodied by it, or be a subset of it. We have so dominated one mode of conflict, that our enemies in the world have identified the limitations in our thinking on the matter and exploited our weakness. Either by maintaining deniability at the nation-state level (Pakistan) or by acting as nation-state's under flimsy pretenses when we are fully engaged elsewhere (Russia), we are being bled by enemies who could not withstand the force of our might, but have learned well to operate in the defilade afforded them by our antiquated sensibility and old-fashioned concepts of conflict.

A much larger military is needed, and yesterday. And we have to realize that moves like this most recent one from Russia should be met with immediate, forceful responses.

Just my 0.02.