By J.D. Longstreet ——Bio and Archives--May 22, 2012
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"The standoff has tested Russian-US relations for much of the past decade and been one of the primary issues addressed by Obama when he launched a diplomatic "reset" with Moscow in 2009. Russian military chief General Nikolai Makarov said this month one option was for Russia to station short-range Iskander missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave near Poland, a long-running threat that has alarmed Eastern European states."Many are concerned that the US will be over stretched if Israel decides to wait no longer and strikes Iran's nuclear facilities and draws the US military into the fray. Let's be clear: IF Israel strikes Iran, the US WILL BE IN THE FRAY whether we want to be, or not. Let us also be realistic. While Iran has a rather large standing army they should pose no real problem. Yes, there will be American casualties and deaths. One would have to be a fool to expect otherwise. But, the truth is--the US could dismantle Iran's military in a matter of a month -- six weeks at the most. Less , if we hustle. Insurgents on the other hand are a whole 'nother story. And that is why we do not want to engage in another ground war in the Middle East for a long time. But the real problem for the US military is not Russia, not China, and certainly not Iran. The problem is the US government. While our arch enemies are sharpening their swords and making heaps more, the US government is busy blunting the swords of the US military by cutting funding that is absolutely necessary for the US to fight and win wars. Here's the bottom line: Cutting or sequestering the US military budget will cut our ground forces to the smallest size they have been since before the Second World War! The US Navy will be cut to its smallest size since 1915. The US Air Force will be shrunk to its smallest size ever in its history. The US Marine Corp will be decimated. Here in North Carolina alone we expect to lose 10% of the Marines at Camp Lejeune and at Cherry Point. Military research and development will be devastated. Research and development and the acquisition of new weapons and systems will be slashed. Look. It is as simple as this: We can either throw American bodies at the enemy in battle or we can throw American hardware at him. Doing the former will stack up American dead and wounded like cordwood. We fought the Chinese in Korea and members of my generation remember the tsunamis of Chinese soldiers swarming American positions. Often it ended with piles upon piles of Chinese bodies heaped up before the guns of the Americans and their Allies in that war. Often, Americans had to retreat and seek reinforcement before they could make a stand and fight the hordes of Chinese communist troops. It was a costly war in American dead. And we did not win. It was a draw, at best, for America. American troops still hold positions near the 38th parallel in Korea today -- almost 60 years later. From what we know of the Chinese military today they are far behind the US in military technology -- at least we THINK they are. But they vastly outnumber the US is troops they will not hesitate to use as cannon fodder. If, indeed, they are behind us technologically, then if (and when) we have a confrontation with China we can expect the same sort of Chinese troop swarms assaulting American positions again. They don't seem to mind throwing their soldiers bodies at us. That's the choice we have to make. Either the Congress and the President can make the funds available to maintain our military at peak capability, maintaining and introducing new and better hardware in the form of tanks, planes, ships, combat vehicles of every kind, and land, sea, and air weapons that are cutting edge -- or -- the government can begin, today, purchasing large tracts of land across this country to be dedicated as military cemeteries for our military dead. The choice is simple -- and it is stark. The facts are VERY clear. If we are to maintain what freedom and liberty we have left in America then we are going to have to pay for it in one of two ways: piles of dead American soldiers, or piles of money. The rebuilding needs to begin now -- TODAY. It takes years, even decades to get new weapons systems from the drawing board to the battlefield. We don't have years and decades. I have made an attempt here to lay out the problem as clearly and concisely -- and, yes, as simply, as I could. I understand that some readers will be upset with my seemingly harsh (I prefer passionate) approach to what I believe MUST be done, and done now, to secure our freedom. Look. We cannot rely on some golden-throated politician or diplomat to keep us out of war. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN. They may DELAY hostilities, but they cannot stop them. Every soldier and every veteran knows there WILL be a next war. It is the nature of the human animal. If our semi-useless (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here) Congress wants to do something meaningful in the next few weeks, they can give the US military the funding they need. We can fuss and fight about all the rest, but we cannot risk our freedom. If we lose that -- then nothing else matters, anyway. J. D. Longstreet
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(Editor’s note: J.D. Longstreet passed away in 2014. He will be greatly missed.)
Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in “America First”.
He is a thirty-year veteran of the broadcasting business, as an “in the field” and “on-air” news reporter (contributing to radio, TV, and newspapers) and a conservative broadcast commentator.
Longstreet is a veteran of the US Army and US Army Reserve. He is a member of the American Legion and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. A lifelong Christian, Longstreet subscribes to “old Lutheranism” to express and exercise his faith.