Big-Ass Fight On The Horizon: Nearly Half Of All U.S. Troops Think Major War Is Comin

"Big-Ass Fight On The Horizon": Nearly Half Of All U.S. Troops Think Major War Is Coming

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...?itok=43pXEI8T

"I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming” - Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller

Fri, 10/19/2018 - 16:55
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A new poll conducted by Military Times and Syracuse University has found that nearly half of all active duty American troops believe the next major war is just around the corner.
The poll results show about 46% of respondents think the U.S. will be drawn into a new war at some point in the next year, which is a significant 5% leap above the same category in the Military Times poll taken last year.
Analysts who looked at the numbers believe military personnel fear global instability and the heightened rhetoric of the Trump administration especially related to world powers like Russia and China.

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According to published results by Military Times:

When asked about specific countries, troops said Russia and China were among their top concerns. The poll showed a big increase in the number of troops who identify those two countries as significant or major threats: About 71 percent of troops said Russia was a significant threat, up 18 points from last year’s survey. And 69 percent of troops said China poses a significant threat, up 24 points from last year.
Some top Pentagon officials have voiced similar views. Last year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told Marines that he thought there was a “big-ass fight” on the horizon.

The Commandant reportedly told Marines stationed in Norway, "I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming.”
Results of the Military Times poll conducted between Sept. 20 and Oct. 2:
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The overwhelming majority that identified Russia and China as the biggest threats to American security are perhaps the most shocking numbers - at 71 and 69 percent respectively, and are likely due to the preponderance of news stories concerning each country's military readiness and war games over the past year.
Other concerns that topped the list for active military personnel includes cyber-terrorism, as 89 percent of those surveyed saw it as a significant threat. One-third said the U.S. is under prepared to face this type of threat.

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Interestingly, the threat of terror organizations that have defined much of the past nearly two decades of the post-9/11 "war on terror" — namely Al Qaeda and ISIS — were seen as less of a threat, with about 57 percent saying it was domestic terrorism that now constitutes the most pressing threat above foreign groups.
But perhaps the biggest shocker — and what could be the biggest affirmation on Trump's Korea policy yet — the poll for the first time saw North Korea recede into the background as a significant threat.
The Military Times reports:

The biggest decrease shown in this year’s poll was North Korea, which was seen as a significant threat by more than 72 percent of troops one year ago, but in this year’s poll only 46 percent described the country that way.
In the last year, U.S. posture toward North Korea has also seen a dramatic shift. Trump moved from mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on social media last fall — calling him “Little Rocket Man” — to publicly proclaiming his respect for the controversial dictator, following a peace summit between the two in June.

Here's a breakdown of what the troops worry about the most in terms of most significant threat to American defense, via Military Times:

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The report added this interesting commentary on North Korea: "One of the Military Times poll respondents, an Army recruiter with more than 18 years of service, said Trump’s handling of the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons looked risky at times, but overall the soldier approves of how Trump is going 'toe-to-toe' in negotiations."
“It was kind of scary, but he had the guts to go over there and stand up for what a lot of Americans are believing in,” the respondent told the Military Times.
However, a number of those interviewed believe President Trump is making the world more unstable, and this could lead the U.S. into major war. One soldier polled said she wouldn't reenlist as, “I feel it has never been this bad and with this many adversaries, because of the way he [Trump] chooses to do business.” She noted the possibility of a “constant conflict” occurring soon, which would involve "endless deployments and fighting".
“With the way we’re growing our force, I tell my soldiers the reason we are growing the force is because we need you, and we’re going to fight,” she said.
Yet the fact remains that since 9/11 the United States is already in the midst of a "forever war" as two decades of Afghan conflict approaches with no end in sight, increased numbers of American troops are quietly back in Iraq as advisers, and there's over 2,000 personnel stationed in eastern Syria.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...jor-war-coming

They need to stop drinking the DemoQuack Kool-Aid. The US has no political "adversaries". We have trade and border adversaries and Trump is fixing that. No one who has completed a negotiation with Trump's Team on Trade is unhappy, they're all happy, even though they got beat up in the negotiations, they know they are far better off having trade with the US than not having trade with the US.

The only missing link right now for almost near perfection in foreign policy under this Administration is .... Russia, the problem there is Mueller. Mueller is an enemy, he is an adversary, he is not an honorable Marine, he is a Marine who got in the swamp and sold out his country.

Trump will fix him, and then Trump will fix this relationship with Russia that Mueller has tried to destroy. But Russians love the US, always have and always will.

The Europeans are with Trump, they're turning on their own governments because their leaders are so far eschew from their fundamental beliefs of what is right and what is wrong for them. The people of the world wants their own countries, they want their own nations, their own place, they don't want Global Order, no, oh hell no, they want their own countries, like we do. We are the same on that. Of course we'll differ on national laws, national rules, national culture, national ways, they will have theirs, and we will have ours. We can all learn from each other because sometimes we are first out with the best idea, yet, often other countries are first out with a great idea. Ideas that work in one country may not work in another country for a variety of reasons. But at the end of the day, everyone in the world loves their own country.

People are sick and tired of war, they want no part of it, only these stupid rebels in these backward countries who want to over-throw their governments. We want no more part of that. No more of this stupid "nation-building".

We're not going to war with anyone. And the first country that tries to go to war with US will be turned to dust.

Trump's got this. Let him work his deals. Get that traitor Mueller put out to pasture so Trump can get in there and scramble with Russia to put US on a new and improved relationship and watch the the whole world settle down.