ANOTHER GREAT QUOTE
"…if you are going to use military force, then you ought to use overwhelming military force. Use too much and deliberately use too much… you’ll save lives, not only your own, but the enemy's too."

Gen. Curtis E. LeMay

I often wonder how General LeMay's philosophy of war would pan out in our war on terror. I know that it wouldn't be too well received by the hand-wringers among us. Curtis E. LeMay was a controversial figure in his day. He was the first commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). He is said to be the inspiration for the war-mongoring "Buck" Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. LeMay believed that the only way to ensure victory was to destroy the enemy's ability to make war. This was the philosophy of the day during World War II.

Large bombing raids were mounted against the enemy with the goal being to inflict massive damage not only on his military, but on his industrial capability as well. In the process, massive civilian casualties (what we call "collateral damage" today) were inflicted. Massive losses were also incurred on our part as well. In a single bombing raid mounted on the German cities of Regensberg and Schweinfurt, over six hundred men and sixty aircraft were lost. That day, October 14, 1943, went down in history as Black Thursday. General LeMay was later quoted as saying "What other method in modern warfare could be used to destroy that much of the enemy's war effort with the loss of 600 men?" A harsh attitude, to be sure, but one that was right for the times.

While I'm not advocating the carpet bombing of Iraq and Afghanistan, there may come a time when we have to return to the "total war" philosophy of WW II. Will we have the will to do it? I honestly don't know. If our country's future depends on it, I hope so.