From Bravery to Patriotism

I was privileged to spend this weekend in Springfield with the American Legion Lincoln Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage is an annual event that recognizes and honors President Abraham Lincoln. While in Springfield, I went to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I encourage everyone who has not been to the Museum to make the short one hour drive to see it.

I found the museum very educational even to someone who doesn't consider himself uninformed. Of particular interest was the exhibit entitled “The Civil War in Four Minutes”. This exhibit shows a map of the east and southeast. And indicates what part of the country was in control of the North and the South. In the lower right is a pair of counters that indicate killed in action from the Union and the Confederates. As the 240 seconds tick past the land controlled by the Union changes and the casualties of both sides mount. At the end of the war, when the counters have stopped, the final toll is
Confederate Soldiers Killed..... 621,000
Union Soldiers Killed................. 702,000

What really astounds me is how this relates with the Philosophy of fighting the War in Vietnam.
Early on it was decided by those who were “educated” in these things that the war in Vietnam would be fought as a war of “attrition” Meaning that we could win the war by killing more of them than they killed of us. Also the taking of land was not really important. As we could take any spot of ground we wanted anytime we wanted.

Yet, a quick look back at the Civil War statistics shows just the opposite. The Union won the war even though they lost more men. The war was won because the Union took and held the land deep into the South.

We just left Iraq. We took the country in a very short time and spent years trying to build a new nation. Only time will tell if we succeeded. The same is true with Afghanistan. The Taliban has been defeated, but are they just standing by waiting for our troops to leave so they can return to power? I hope not.

The indications are from the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that our military leaders have learned the lessons from the Civil War and Vietnam and will not again fight a war in which body counts are the only way to determine who wins and loses. For in a war where body counts determine the winner...... There is no winner.