In three hours of news coverage last night, there were no fewer than a dozen comparisons between the current crisis in the Middle East and World War II. Very bright analysts and former military leaders are in lockstep: ISIS is the greatest threat to the World since Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. They could not be more wrong and any comparison between ISIS and World War II demonstrates a stunning lack of perspective.
According to the National World War II museum, by 1945, 12,209,238 Americans were actively serving in the military in 94 divisions. 407,316 servicemen were killed. Another 250,000 were wounded. 4,730 were missing in action and presumed killed. Only 38.8% had non-combat jobs.
The United States alone had 12,200 combat aircraft deployed, and had produced more than 40,000 during the course of the war. The Allies flew over 300,000 sorties in more than 20 countries. The United States lost 157 warships, including 11 aircraft carriers. It had, however, produced over 100,000 ships of all types during the war. Also produced were over 100,000 tanks and armored vehicles, 12.5 million rifles and more than 41 billion rounds of ammunition.
And that was just our contribution to the war effort.
The latest estimates are that ISIS boasts somewhere between 30,000 and 200,000 members. However, the higher estimates include ISIS members who are in administrative roles, like police, tax collectors, engineers, supply officers and the like. Since ISIS only controls a regional population of about 3.4 million, it seems extremely unlikely they have been able to recruit 200,000 hardcore fighters. But let's say they did... That's 200,000 Jihadis engaged in a regional conflict as opposed to 12.2 million Americans engaged in Europe and Asia in World War II. There is no comparison.
We could end the analysis there, but someone might argue that the scale of the casualties is comparable. It is not. If ISIS were to kill every single man, woman and child in the territories they control, that horror would yield between 3 and 4 million dead. While horrific, if we are simply comparing scales, that holocaust is still smaller than the 6 million Jews exterminated during World War II. It also pales in comparison to the 80 million people killed during the course of the entire war. In fact, World War II deaths accounted for between 3% and 5% of the total population of the entire world. Entire generations of men were wiped out in Europe and Asia.
And let us not forget the weapons that were used. World War II saw the world powers unleash carpet bombs, fire bombs and, of course, the atomic bomb. Entire cities were destroyed by these weapons. For example, in one single bombing raid over Tokyo, more than 80,000 men, women and children were killed by American bombers. 347 planes were used to drop 2,000 pounds of incendiary bombs on the Japanese over a period of 48 hours. The atomic bomb was dropped, in part, to "shock" the Japanese into surrender. It was hoped that the weapon would be so horrifying that all but the most devoted followers would either quit fighting or commit suicide. It worked.
One may ask why, after seeing such a comparison, World War II was so bloody? How can the bloodshed and violence possibly be justified? So many civilians dead. So many children slaughtered by bombs.
The answer is quite simple really. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were existential threats to Europe and the United States. Those powers were racing to gain technological superiority over the Allies so they could literally conquer and occupy us. Nazi Germany was developing an atomic bomb as early as 1936. Imagine if they had won the atomic race. They had already won the race for jet planes, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Germany would have had a functional ICBM decades before us had they been allowed to continue unchecked. Germany had invaded and conquered half of Europe before the French and British declared war, and it would be another two years before the United States would intervene. By the time we did, it had become a desperate struggle for the survival of our way of life and our nation. There is little doubt that, had the Nazis been given the opportunity, they would have used their technological superiority to at least menace our nation for decades.
ISIS just isn't that kind of threat. And if it ever becomes that kind of threat, we are decades ahead of this enemy in the development of military technology. And that is the key. ISIS may be bent on world domination the way Nazi Germany was, but the comparison ends there. They simply do not have the means to accomplish their goal and they likely never will. ISIS uses swords and crosses to brutally murder those who they consider Infidels. The Nazis used gas chambers to kill hundreds of Jews at a time. The United States just deployed its first laser on a destroyer. Swords vs. Lasers. Toyota pickups versus tanks. RPGs versus cruise missiles. AK-47s versus ICBMs. The only question is one of will, not weaponry.
If ISIS chooses to provoke a total war with the United States, it will be utterly annihilated. But we are not there yet. Let us not pretend that we are in order to justify another long, hard slog through the Middle East with no serious objective.
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