War of Words

This phrase use to be an expression of harmless bickering between two parties, yelling and screaming at each other, or using the media to attack another party but limited to just that, words. There is no intention to carry the matter any further but just to show displeasure or to show who is the bigger bully or for the purpose of propaganda, to sink the ideas into the unthinking minds.

The war of words has taken a very different meaning, very serious and very damaging without any open conflict, and very, very effective and costly today.  The Americans have been spending billions and trillions in building up a military force that would turn any country into dust if they wanted to. That is how formidable and destructive is the American war machine. No country today is able to match the Americans in any specific area of contest with a clear advantage and a war with America is as good as courting self destruction. Of course the Americans also know that a few countries out there could bring America along to the Stone Age should the Americans are mad enough to want to go to war with them.

The Americans at best could play the game of chicken with other nuclear powers, to threaten and hoping that the other party would back out. But if both stay on course, ultimately both would have to back out. Crashing head on will end up in pieces for both chickens. The use of military power against another super power is a no option, rendering the superiority in military hardware relatively futile. The Americans overwhelming military superiority could stlll be used effectively against weaker enemies. However this again has been proven to be quite ineffective in the Middle East and a big drain on the American resources.

The most effective warfare today has turned out to be the War of Words. ISIS have just warned the Americans to withdraw its troops and involvement in the Middle East or else  they will hit at every 7 eleven stores around the world, or at any MacDonald or Kentucky fastfood outlets, or every Apple stores, Coffee beans, Starbucks or any American brand establishments worldwide.  Such threats may or may not take place, just like threats of bombs inside an aircraft. What happens is that the authority will have to act, securities beefed up, more checks, more delays and inconvenience and more cancellations. When an airline or establishment is on the hit list of a terrorist group, you can bet business will be affected. The customers will stay away when there are other alternatives available. Why would customers patronize an establishment on the hit list? Parents would keep their young away for sure.

As an example, an open threat to say Starbucks or MacDonald, what would happen to their business? It is a War of Words, but very effective and very easy and cheap to conduct. Any attempt to defend such soft targets is going to be exceptionally costly in manpower and resources. Even then, it is going to be in vain. All the billion dollar high tech leading edge military equipment and weapons are utterly hapless and useless in this kind of warfare. ISIS can be expected to increase its effort in this form of warfare. Yes, it is like calling wolf. One time, two times, three times, nothing happens. Seven times, eight times, twenty times, nothing happens, then kaboom, one store got hit. Confidence collapse and business goes down. No innocent customers would want to frequent the store, just in case.

This War of Words would be the new normal and all the security forces would be running around all for nothing but cannot afford not to run around. It is now so easy to make the Americans dance. Just issue a threat. F35s, B52s, nuclear missiles, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, Poseidon, drones, got any use?

Welcome to the Third World War of Words where the Americans did not have any advantage but all the disadvantages. It is all a new ball game that has no form of effective defence. Just waiting for a threat to be made good, with no time and space dimension. The Talibans could not do it, the Al Qaeda could not do it. ISIS can. It could call on the nearly one hundred countries it is drawing its recruits from, the self radicalized individuals, a one man war machine, with a knife or a handgun. The affected countries and their people, their businesses and lifestyle, will all go crazy.

ISIS is now calling the shot. ISIS has the initiative. ISIS decides the time and place. ISIS is in control, not the Americans anymore. The Americans are on the defensive. The next stage, the Americans will be on the run, back home to protect homeland security, when the streets are on fire, under attack.