The Kind of Military Assault Even the Media Can Get Behind... Sorta

Al-Qaeda linked Terror Camp in Somalia struck by US Gunships
Well good. Fox News is titling it a payback attack since the likely targets were the masterminds of the East Africa Embassy Bombings, and of course for the fact that it took place in Somalia, site of the Black Hawk Down Incident, which of course also had Al-Qaeda links according to Bodansky, amongst others. But the story tells us something else interesting. The only reason we were able to get this hit, was because of Somali government and Ethiopian troops on the ground providing intel. Meanwhile, The ABC Radio news took no short time in linking the desire of Ethiopian troops to withdrawal and replace with UN troops with Iraq. Yes, the ability of a third world country to sustain an occupation is TOTALLY the same thing as the United States of America, the world's only superpower. You know for all the effort from some to distance Iraq from the GWOT, every time the enemy turns out to be Islamist (and when are they not??), the link is made. "Oooh Iraq, Iraq, Sectarian Violence Run Away!" Oh, they also pointed out that Ethiopia is a majority Judeo-Christian country, and ran their sectarian violence meme again. (They actually used the asinine term "sectarian violence" in the 7 am EST news, despite the fact that Christianity and Islam are too utterly different religions, not sects. Morons.)

Still, this aerial gunning of Islamist camps is the kind of military endeavor which even the MSM can get behind, because it makes a nice headline, has no real cost, and, notably, doesn't actually secure any strategic objectives. It does secure the tactical objective of dead terrorists, but that doesn't accomplish all that much. This post, H/T Jihad Watch, highlights the kind of military action which will work to defeat Islamic totalitarianism. The only problem? Its utterly impossible. Not because we couldn't do the large scale, World War II style campaigns and occupation described, but because the public will not accept it. I was watching a show on the history channel, which discussed how the United States lost 5,000 marines in the battle of Bellau Wood, in WWI. 5,000! to capture a tree-line. Yet the battle is considered one of the most hallowed in Marine Corps History, where they earned the nickname Devil Dogs. Terrible casualties, but considered worth it, because they led to victory. The problem in Iraq, is that our casualties will never lead to victory, because the Media WILL NEVER ALLOW IT. Just as its said that you go to war with the forces you have, unfortunately we also have to go to war with the public we have. Which is where the poster I linked too goes astray. We have the military necessary to do the job. We don't have the public necessary to do the job.