Is The Russian Military Faring Any Worse Than The US Military?
Is the US ready for a modern 21st century war?
The narrative that has been circulating online since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that the Russian military stinks. They’ve lost bundles of military hardware. They’ve suffered thousands of casualties. How could big bad Russia stub their toe so hard on little old Ukraine? Russia drools, and Ukraine rools. Smug Westerners like to recline at their desks, steeple their fingers under their chin, and mutter to themselves, “see, Russia’s military is a sham.” At first glance, that appears to be true. But no one is asking the right question. Would the United States fare any better?
The United States has built a mystique around its military that it is the absolute best in the world. A crack unit. An invincible force for good. But it is a military that has not been tested in the 21st century and one that has racked up a slew of equally embarrassing losses in recent years.
All of America’s combat missions in the 21st century have been in the Middle East and Africa against inferior opposition. The United States has not fought a modern military backed by superpower opponents since Vietnam, and we all know how that ended. Instead, the United States has cut its teeth against Saddam Hussein (twice), Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi…
