President shows his cards in Afghan war strategy

Deception and secrecy are critical in sports, politics, business and especially war. Throughout recorded history, opposing armies have used various ruses in order to confuse or trick their enemies and, thus, create an advantage on the battlefield.

During World War II the Americans knew the Germans considered Gen. George Patton the top commander in the U.S. Army, so the allies placed him in charge of a fake army in England across from the Pas de Calais (the shortest distance across the English Channel) and sent radio messages to convince the Germans the coming invasion would not be at Normandy, but at Calais. Even when the invasion was launched, the Germans kept significant forces in reserve because of the continuing ruse by the Americans about Patton and his army. If those reserve forces had been sent to Normandy, the outcome may have been different or, at the minimum, much costlier in lost lives for the Americans.

In sports, have you noticed most of the professional football team coaches on the sidelines keep something in front of their faces as they call the next play? They are not bashful; they are making sure no one can read their lips as they send in the next play.

On the field, the quarterback makes fake handoff's to confuse the defenses of the other team. He also makes fake pass attempts to do the same. All of this is to gain an advantage for his team. Baseball, hockey, lacrosse and just about any team sport uses some type of deception to gain an advantage. In baseball, the catcher doesn't shout to the pitcher what type of pith to throw next. He hides the signal so it remains a secret to all except the pitcher.

Businesses treat their business plan and product development as top secrets so their competitors cannot copy and gain an advantage. Many businesses spend a fortune trying to discover competitors' plans or protecting their own plans. Drug companies also fall into this category. The rewards for developing a drug to cure a disease or reduce the effects of a disease are astronomical. Think of what it would be worth if someone discovered a cure for cancer or spinal injury.

Politicians also use deception in order to gain an advantage against an opponent. Consider the effort that is made to discover skeletons in an opponent's background and the effort to conceal any of their own faults. In the past, that was much easier, but today we have tape recording for both audio and video, and with computers we can Google and discover hidden background more easily.

Fortunately for us, many politicians have failed to fully understand that capability we have at our disposal.

All of this makes sense and just adds to the complete befuddlement of people when they listened to our president speak at West Point on Wednesday night. Taking time to recall some of the history was fine, but then telling our enemies we will start withdrawing in 18 months makes no sense. I watched the reaction of the audience. These are young cadets who will shortly be going into combat after they graduate. The response was tepid at best. This was their commander in chief and he left them cold. Only at the end when he spoke about this wonderful country was there positive reaction. This was a golden opportunity to raise the spirits and he didn't.

Just prior to the speech, the superintendent told the cadets to receive the remarks enthusiastically. I recall when President John F. Kennedy spoke to my graduating class at the Naval Academy in 1961. The speech was fantastic and the response was the same. His speech was uplifting. Our current president's speech was anything other than uplifting.

How many people know Gen. Stanley McChrystal requested 40,000 to 60,000 troops, not 40,000, and we are sending 30,000? Do you recall what people were saying as the Vietnam War was winding down and we were pulling out the troops? Who wants to be the last man to die in Vietnam was the thought. We now have a professional all-volunteer force, but what will they think when they have been told we will start leaving in 18 months? The spinmisters from the administration were out in force all day Wednesday explaining what was meant by certain terms. I am tired of people explaining the meaning of terms after they are uttered.

I want the truth, and I demand it.