Still, Clinton had decided that if Bush could cash in the "Peace Dividend" by cutting the size of the Military, he should cut it even more. After all, it was an era of peace, right? The Clinton Administration envisioned the Military being used in Peace-Keeping operations, not Wars. Operations like Somalia. It would be a kinder, gentler Military, under UN mandates. So, when the Ground Commander in Somalia said he needed Armored Personnel Carriers and C-130 Gunships, the Clinton Administration denied them on the basis that it would appear too aggressive.
When a successful operation in Mogadishu resulted in fatalities, and a hostage, Clinton couldn't retreat fast enough. The media played up the operation as a tactical defeat, though the Troops on the ground had fought bravely, against overwhelming odds, achieved all of their objectives, decimated the enemy, and left the battlefield on their own terms. The Rangers and Delta Operators had dealt Al-Qaeda its first tactical defeat, without even knowing Al-Qaeda was there. The Politicians in Washington turned it into a strategic defeat, adding to the lessons learned by Osama bin Laden, and his developing strategy.
After the demonstrated resolve of the 80's against Qaddaffi, the state sponsors of terrorism, principally Iran and Libya, had pulled back the reins on the PLO, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. The Communist Terrorists of Europe had melted away. And the IRA had made peace with Britain. Terrorism was on the decline in the 90's.
But there was a new philosophy in play in the White House. Terrorism would be treated as a crime, not an act of war.
The Egyptian campaign had failed, but the Somali operation had resulted in retreat of Americans, leaving the coastal nation in chaos to this day, 20 years later. Eventually, it became a fund-raising and training grounds, as Islamist Pirates extort millions from Europeans and Saudis, while wannabe jihadis get a test of trial by fire against African Troops and fellow jihadi terrorists.
The last Communist country to fall was Yugoslavia. It had been held together by Tito, the only dictator of the Warsaw Pact to be allowed to defy the Soviet Union. He held the conglomeration of disparate states together, by being more Stalinistic than Stalin himself. Tito was a Serb, but he inflicted the Yugoslav identity as equally on Serbs as Croats, and Bosnians, Albanians, and Kosovars. He was an equal opportunity tyrant, who allowed no dissent. But when he died, Yugoslavia was fated to return to the parts from which it had been made.
The Slovenians were first. They surprised the world, the Serbs, and the new dictator Milosevic, by quietly and quickly seizing the weapons of war within their province, and declaring their independence. By the time anyone realized it was happening, it was too late to stop it. But Milosevic saw the writing on the wall, and determined he wouldn't be caught unaware again. The Croats and the Bosnians were next. And while the Croats were too much, too independent, and too distinct an identity to suppress effectively, Milosevic drew his line in the mountains of Bosnia.
Clinton called on the Europeans to fix the problem, and on Congress to approve a US role to end the slaughter in Bosnia. As with Somalia, and Desert Storm, the cry went up: "We are not the world's policeman. This will be another Viet Nam." And, "We have no business getting in the middle of a Civil War." The difference was that this time it was the right side of the aisle voicing the opposition, and the left side of the aisle that was pushing for intervention. Like Somalia, Bosnia was a Civil War, and Somalia was fresh on the minds of Americans.
Altruism was deemed insufficient a reason to put Troops in danger. And after the Somali fiasco, Congress had passed legislation preventing US Troops from being put under the command of a UN/foreign General. NATO was put in charge. Strangely, the atrocities of Serbs and Croats were widely published, but the Islamist atrocities were buried. Few reports escaped the war zone of Islamist Mujaheddin making their way to the Civil War. Sarajevo became a town of snipers, with no one safe. Even the future Senator of New York, future Secretary of State, and then First Lady would have a Sniper Story to share, though video evidence would tell a different story.
As the Bosnians were beginning to find peace, the Kosovars, ethnic Albanians rose up, and felt the oppressive backlash of Milosevic. Clinton sent Troops to "keep the peace" and against all historical precedence insisted on an air war alone to change the Serb will to fight. Somehow, an errant smartbomb was misguided into the Chinese Embassy. Nevertheless, the Serb Republic felt the power, economically and militarily, as its infrastructure was destroyed under the weight of General Wesley Clark's air campaign.
Milosevic proved to be a pragmatic dictator, who loved his country more than he desired greater power. He was brought to his knees by an air campaign alone, unlike any tyrant before him. It had not worked against Saddam, against Hitler, against Ho Chi Minh, in Laos, in Cambodia, or anywhere else, but Milosevic agreed to end his oppression of Kosovars, in exchange for an end to the air war. Kosovo and Bosnia would remain combat zones, with a US presence into the 21st Century, and Milosevic is yet to be tried, but Kosovo gained its independence.
American planes were still being shot at in Iraq and cruise missiles were regularly launched against Iraq, Afghanistan, and even The Sudan, but the Clinton Administration was cutting the number of Troops in Uniform. The 18 Divisions of the Reagan Administration had been cut to 10 under Clinton. Clinton put a premium on technology in the Air Force, and promised to "increase the quality of life" of Troops. The Troops weren't buying it and the Joint Chiefs were particularly embarrassed when an entire shipful of Sailors demonstrated their lack of respect for the CinC.
Units weren't getting funds for such basic items as Camouflage face paint. With the draw-down, the least infraction was a reason to be cut from the force. Commanders got poor marks on their Evaluation Reports if too many of their Troops got DUI's. A Training Accident could mean the difference between a career and a pink slip. Officers, and NCO's began looking out for themselves, and avoiding risks. It became better to push a small problem higher than get caught taking care of an errant Soldier themselves. The higher the level it was pushed to, the greater the risk to the career if they got caught holding the hot potato. But, it was an easy decision for a Commander to outprocess the errant Troop, and prove themselves in compliance of "zero tolerance," as well to deny "risky" training.
While it was a good time to be a government contractor or a union construction worker, it was not a good time to be training for War. BRAC (Base Re-Alignment and Closure) meant that a LOT of DoD dollars were being spent building new facilities in fewer bases, while a LOT more were being spent on "cleaning up" the bases being closed, to give away to municipalities. Secretary Leon Panetta had successfully prevented the closure of the Presidio of Monterey and the Naval Post-Graduate School near his hometown of Carmel, California, while ridding the area of those pesky knuckle-dragging Infantrymen at Fort Ord.
Seventh Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California, the Military Police and Chemical Schools at Fort McClellan, Alabama, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions, as well as many other Divisions rolled their colors and bases shuttered their gates. Communities that had welcomed the Troops, and their dollars, as well as those that had welcomed their departures felt the economic pinch, and some, to this day, argue over what to do with the land they inherited from the government. Many of those old buildings continue to decay today.
The great Military land giveaway was supposed to save maintenance costs, but it did not. It merely moved money from training the Troops, and buying equipment to lining the pockets of Contractors. Nor did it reduce the number of government owned lands, because as the Clinton Administration gave away Military Bases, it forced citizens to sell their land to the government at cut rate prices, to add to "Forest Service lands."
The 1990's saw a new kind of terrorism on the rise. Gone were the days of mere targeted assassinations, airline hi-jackings, and gunning down passengers in airline terminals. Al-Qaeda had ushered in a return to what they had seen work in Beirut: Spectacular attacks. Suicide trucks bombs attacked the Al-Khobar Air Force Barracks in Saudi Arabia, the Embassies in Kenya & Tanzania, and a suicide boat attack had punched a huge hole in the USS Cole. Previously "international terrorism" had been labeled as such by the fact that it had struck internationally, by a group primarily defined by a nationality, but Al-Qaeda had put the international into the membership. Hezbollah was primarily Lebanese, but Al-Qaeda included Egyptians, Saudis, Libyans, and Tunisians.
When the Al-Qaeda attacks resulted in Million Dollar Cruise Missiles blowing up Thousand Dollar mud huts in Afghanistan, Osama saw a win-win situation. Osama made a deal with his devil. Saddam was the enemy of his enemy, more than he was the enemy of Al-Qaeda. There wasn't a lot of trust, but there was the making of an alliance of convenience. Saddam offered him refuge, which Osama turned down, but Osama offered him retaliation. Saddam was powerless to exact revenge when the cruise missiles befell his Nation, but Osama saw a silver lining. He could claim his terrorist attacks were retribution for attacks on a Muslim Nation, even if led by his enemy. He could prove his altruism, and loyalty to ALL Muslims. In exchange, Saddam gave him land for terrorist training camps in Fallujah and Nasiriyah. It wasn't a friendship, but it served their own purposes.
Together, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Iran, collaborated to assassinate Hosni Mubarrak in Ethiopia. And when they failed, Al-Qaeda convinced Mubarrak that it was sanctioned by Clinton's CIA, widening the gap between old allies, and closing it between old enemies.
As we entered the 21st Century, Saddam had continued to rattle his cage and his sword. There was a new President to test, and he looked weak given the contentions of the 2000 elections. It wouldn't be Saddam that tested him, but a plot long in the works from Al-Qaeda. It came close to cancellation. It was delayed by a few months. Had word gotten out that one of the 20 terrorists had gotten arrested, it wouldn't have gone off, but little enough was known of the threat to understand that an entirely new and different technique would be tried, and partially succeed.
As the 20th Century closed, another economic downturn was in the works, but few were buying it, as the last time, they had voted against the guy that had turned it around. The "tech bubble" had burst but the Real Estate bubble was proving resilient, as people could "buy" homes without a down payment and without a decent credit rating, and others were flipping condos 5 and 6x before anyone lived in them, creating false demand.
We had recovered from the defeatist 70's.
And the Rewards of the 80's had carried through the early years of the Bush Admin.
Stumble It!
