I guess that Algeria does not mean much to President Obama. Not a peep and even the media seems to think it is 20th page news. Well, I beg to differ. The war is going badly for the United States and it is spreading.
That 'numbers do not matter, capability matters' is not working out so well. Or would having 3 or 4 more aircraft carriers offshore from Algeria add to our capability to influence events there? How about an extra 10,000 Marines offshore from Algeria?
In the debate against Mitt Romney, President Obama scoffed at his challengers mentioning how our navy is declining in numbers. President Obama said that it is not about number of ships, but capability. Numbers can determine capability, Mr. President. They can also determine if you win or lose, losing meaning that more of your men are killed and the mission is not accomplished.
Are the Algerian troops and officers more capable than U.S. troops and officers? I think not. President Obama seems to think so. At least the Algerian government is more decisive than our President.
What if we had more troops and aircraft carriers in the area? Would this not have enhanced our capabilities? If you have zero ships and troops, you have zero capability. Or are not not familiar with the United States Army in World War II? Against Germany, our Sherman tanks outnumbered Germany's famous Tiger and Panther tanks. We needed numbers because our tanks were not as formidable one on one. But three or four on one? How about how the Soviet Army was so much less capable than the German Army? The Soviet Union lost nearly 5 million men in the first 6 months of the war. (June through December, 1941) Their sheer numbers allowed them to not just recover, but defeat a much more capable German Army.
No, Mr. President, numbers do matter. It is clear to me that your capability to understand this is a great danger to our country.
(Please note that I do not really know if there was anything that we could have done differently in the case of the Algerian hostages. I am only pointing out how numbers can and do determine capability)