STRATCOM is responsible for
nuclear strikes, not conventional warfare.
"USSTRATCOM combines the synergy of the U.S. legacy nuclear command and control mission with responsibility for space operations; global strike; Defense Department information operations; global missile defense; global command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR); and combating weapons of mass destruction."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States... STRATCOM was actually created by Bushco., in 2002. There's nothing in that description about soldiers or ground wars. STRATCOM is all about whiz-bang neocon toys - space warfare, nuclear bombs, high-tech surveillance. It's headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO & Omaha, Nebraska, and I think that's where Cheney goes half the time when he disappears.
Recently, STRATCOM created a new plan for
pre-emptive nuclear & aerial strikes. This plan was called "Global Strike", and plans for the US to have the ability to launch against any target in the world. STRATCOM created a whole new division to implement this plan, called "Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike and Integration." This division finally kicked into operation in Sept. 2006.
http://www.nukestrat.com/us/stratcom/GSchr... This article by William Arkin explains just what the "Global Strike Plan" is:
Not Just A Last Resort? - A Global Strike Plan, With a Nuclear Option
By William Arkin
Washington Post
Sunday, May 15, 2005; B01
Early last summer, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld approved a top secret "Interim Global Strike Alert Order" directing the military to assume and maintain readiness to attack hostile countries that are developing weapons of mass destruction, specifically Iran and North Korea.
In the secret world of military planning, global strike has become the term of art to describe a specific preemptive attack. When military officials refer to global strike, they stress its conventional elements. Surprisingly, however, global strike also includes a nuclear option, which runs counter to traditional U.S. notions about the defensive role of nuclear weapons.
Global strike has become one of the core missions for the Omaha-based Strategic Command, or Stratcom. Once, Stratcom oversaw only the nation's nuclear forces; now it has responsibility for overseeing a global strike plan with both conventional and nuclear options. President Bush spelled out the definition of "full-spectrum" global strike in a January 2003 classified directive, describing it as "a capability to deliver rapid, extended range, precision kinetic (nuclear and conventional) and non-kinetic (elements of space and information operations) effects in support of theater and national objectives.
This blurring of the nuclear/conventional line, wittingly or unwittingly, could heighten the risk that the nuclear option will be used. Exhibit A may be the Stratcom contingency plan for dealing with "imminent" threats from countries such as North Korea or Iran, formally known as CONPLAN 8022-02. CONPLAN 8022 is different from other war plans in that it posits a small-scale operation and no "boots on the ground." ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte... Couple quick points from the article: First, "Global Strike" allows attacks w/o warning, within minutes after an order is given. Second, the strike plan is launched
by presidential order, no Congress involved. Finally, the plan can be implemented w/o using military forces or conventional warfare - so even though we have no military left, this plan is still doable. If they attack Iran, this is how they are going to do it. They'll use "Global Strike", Rummy & Cheney's neocon fantasy.
Federation of Scientists report on "Global Strike" (pdf file) -
http://www.fas.org/ssp/docs/GlobalStrikeRe... 
