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Such shaping actions can include staging of forces, information campaigns, diplomacy, and multinational economic initiatives. In the Cold War era, the focus of shaping operations was the NATO battlefield. The intent was to quickly resolve or win conflict and prevent a disastrous slide to nuclear confrontation. Post Cold War and the Soviet collapse, shaping went global as the U.S., the single superpower, faced a world of conflicts, large and small. Our nation had to be both efficient and effective in the use of all elements of national power to adequately secure our republic. We rarely had an opportunity to wield decisive force.
Today, competition not conflict, particularly with China, is a continuous state of affairs at home and abroad. And, as daily news tells us, Iran, drug cartels, cyber criminals, and home-grown terrorists seem intent on importing and exploiting conflict in our homeland. Unfortunately, the disastrous border collapse and feckless security policies during the Biden administration added unvetted and untold numbers of agents very likely intent on accelerating such chaos.
Add liberal legions of what Stalin allegedly called “useless idiots” who added antisemitism and Socialism to our academic life, our national politics and our daily dialog and one can easily explain the spread of toxic threats never before compounded on U.S. soil. And, yes, we’re being SHAPED - but By Who? To What Purpose? And, For What Decisive Outcome? Are we Drifting or Being Driven? I personally feel the pressure on my daily life, my family’s security, my community’s safety, and my Freedoms.
In this advanced stage of our nation’s current election cycle, massive sums are being spent to advance political agendas and Shape the political climate. It’s the name of the game. It’s a cascade of influence campaigns. We suffer our way through it. We see partisan advertising, pop up newsletters, newly funded influencers, “doomers” at the top of newsfeeds. Polls are trumpeted by left and right. But Republicans are at a disadvantage, however, given the everlasting media bias against President Trump. News stories amplify a distracting, TDS influenced narrative to draw attention away from economic, technology, military and diplomatic successes. Local issues are mentioned but, typically, never explained. Republican candidates running to fix obvious problems are marginalized while those candidates on the opposite side of the political spectrum who actually caused or ignored these problems get a pass.
We are being sold a storyline, in this last month of this election cycle, that those who lit the fires of inflation, crime, loss of sovereignty, unaffordable health care, insecurity, and bitter division can return to save us from these problems they themselves created. I am certain that those Veterans and Veteran Supporters who regularly vote see their way through this smokescreen. I know they do not like being Shaped either. I would wager the distaste they may have for politics, in general, springs from this difference between honest, common-sense policies versus false, impractical promises found in campaign dialog.
In this upcoming election - everything depends on turn-out. This is not the election to let the noise of deceptive campaigns distract Veteran voters from choosing those who will actually fix what got broken by the culprits who screwed things up. These same radicals have now been emboldened by their new Socialist allies who bring No solutions. In this election, Veterans in Virginia are the swing vote at the margin of close elections. Think about the future we served to protect, not the manufactured present we know is false. Remember: Your vote will be crucial to the future of our state, and our Constitutional Republic.
Every Veteran, Every Vote, Every Election!
Veterans Forward
Bob Wood, LTG (R), USA
CEO, American Veterans Vote
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