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Susan Page writes at USA Today that Leon Panetta, former head of the CIA and Secretary of the Department of Defense, says Americans should be braced for a long battle against the brutal terrorist group Islamic State that will test U.S. resolve. "I think we're looking at kind of a 30-year war," says Panetta, one that will have to extend beyond Islamic State to include emerging threats in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere. Panetta also says that decisions made by President Obama over the past three years have made that battle more difficult — an explosive assessment by a respected policymaker of the president he served. Not pushing the Iraqi government harder to allow a residual US force to remain when troops withdrew in 2011, a deal he says could have been negotiated with more effort "created a vacuum in terms of the ability of that country to better protect itself, and it's out of that vacuum that ISIS began to breed." It is no surprise to Panetta that the assessment in his new book "Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace" is drawing White House ire. "Look, I've been a guy who's always been honest," Panetta says. "I've been honest in politics, honest with the people that I deal with. I've been a straight talker. Some people like it; some people don't like it. But I wasn't going to write a book that kind of didn't express what I thought was the case."
(Score: 2) by Tramii on Monday October 06 2014, @10:59PM
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I agree that it's most likely just going to be another flame war, but if people find it "interesting" enough to comment on it a lot, I don't see what we can really do to stop it.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Tuesday October 07 2014, @12:24AM
That is very much relevant, including the technology of it. For example, accept that 30 year war for a moment. How will it be waged, against who, and with what technology? Progress in military robots, for example, may result in fully autonomous battle tanks, if not even nuclear powered walkers from Star Wars.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday October 07 2014, @02:14AM
Like the robotic swarm boats the Navy is building? [cnn.com]
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1) by tftp on Tuesday October 07 2014, @02:34AM
There are many examples of autonomous vehicles that are used, or planned for use, in the military. Airplanes and boats are a bit easier, as they don't need to deal with terrain.