Originally Posted by
Vulgotha
If the US military turned on its own people, it would be utterly destroyed. Consider.
A bunch of poorly trained, poorly equipped goat herders in Afghanistan have given us hell these past years. Why? Because we suck at counter insurgency. This is not to say the insurgents are weak or not tough- just that comparatively they are outmatched.
Why is this? Because asymmetrical warfare has the benefit of attacking where the standing force is weakest at any time and then slip back into the regular population. Plant an IED on a road, a bomb in a car, blow up a bridge, cut power cables, take pot shots at a convoy to hold it up. Kill a few soldiers, wound twice as many.
All of these things add up. You make a military that is absolutely dependent upon proper logistics and structure crack underneath prolonged non-conventional tactics with guerrilla maneuvers.
They did it to the Soviets. They're doing it to us. Yes, we trained and armed them but they were no proper match against the Soviet war machine, or ours, in a stand up fight. Much the same way that we leveraged a new way of fighting against the British during the revolutionary war. We learned from the Indians that standing in giant rows and formations and shooting each other was probably not the most pragmatic way to go about war.
Now take all this and apply it to the United States. First, let's pretend that the volunteer military does not fragment whatsoever. Even in this situation, coupled with the other federal agencies, the government would be run into the ground within months. Assuming no outside interference one way or another.
We have such a large population that is so well armed there would be no winning. Because the military, like in Afghanistan, would not start leveling entire cities and blowing up critical infrastructure but the rebels would. They'd be cutting power lines, blowing up bridges and fuel depots, taking pot shots at troops on patrol and blending back in. Using weaponry far more potent and sophisticated than is available to the extremist salafist\wahabi goons.
Using materials at Walmart and Home Depot to make more sophisticated bombs and IED's than third world nation rebels could ever hope to achieve.
It's simple math. I can spend like $8 dollars on some high proof alcohol, get a rag and lighter and throw it into an open military transport and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. Severe burns mean medical treatment, the interior of the car would be all messed up and have to be refitted, there may even be a death or two depending on how good an aim I am.
That's the power of modern technology, even on a casual level, meeting military application. This is why insurgency is so damn powerful.
Abram tanks.. Drones.. Apaches.. None of these things do you any good unless you have the resolve to literally steamroll an entire city and waste droves of the populace in order to achieve your military objective. Obviously, this would cause even more people to join the cause and hasten the defeat of the government.
There's no outcome here that results in the government's victory unless the militants have all their balls drop off for some reason half way through.
