Fred: A True Son of Tzu

Guderian Was the Mother

January 23, 2007

Being a military thinker of the profoundest sort, I offer the following manual of martial affairs for nations yearning to copy the American way of war. Read it carefully. Great clarity will result. The steps limned below will facilitate disaster without imposing the burden of reinventing it. The Pentagon may print copies for distribution.

(1) Underestimate the enemy. Fortunately this is easy when a technologically advanced power prepares to attack an underdeveloped nation. Its enemy's citizens will readily be seen as gadgetless, primitive, probably genetically stupid, and hardly worth the attention of a real military.

(2) Avoid learning anything about the enemy—his culture, religion, language, history, or response to past invasions. These things don’t matter since the enemy is gadgetless, primitive, and probably genetically stupid. Anyway, knowledge would only make the enlisted ranks restive, and confuse the officer corps.

Blank ignorance of the language is especially desirable (as well as virtually guaranteed). For one thing, it will allow your troops to be seen as brutal invaders having nothing in common with the population; this helps in winning hearts and minds. For another, it will allow English-speaking officials of the puppet government to vet such information about the country as they permit you to have.

(3) Explain the invasion to the American public in simple moral terms suitable for middle-school children at an evangelical summer camp: We are bombing cities to bring the gift of democracy and American values, or to defeat some vague but frightening evil, perhaps lurking under the bed, or to get rid of a bad dictator no longer of service to us, or to bring freedom and prosperity to any survivors. (This doesn’t work in Europe, which is honestly imperialistic.) The public can then feel a sense of unappreciated virtue when the primitives resist. Sententious moralism should always trump reason.

(4) A misunderstanding of military reality helps. Besides, comprehension would only lead to depression. As Napoleon said, or may have, in war the moral is to the material as three is to one, which implies that unpleasant facts should be played down in favor of cultivating a cheerful attitude. Most especially, it should not be noted that a few tens of thousands of determined, probably genetically-stupid primitives with small arms can tie down a cheerful force however gaudily armed.

Pay no attention to tactics, which are boring. It should never enter your mind that in this sort of war, if you don’t win, you lose; if the enemy doesn’t lose, he wins. Think about something else. Above all, do not understand that the enemy’s target is not you, but public opinion at home. You don't need to remember this, as the enemy will remember it for you.

(5) Do not forget that a military’s reason for existence is to close with the enemy and destroy him. An army is not in the social-services business. Do not let the mission be impeded by touchy-feely considerations. If you have to kill seventeen children to get a sniper, so be it. The enemy must realize that you mean business. Ignore cultural traits, which are of concern only to idealistic civilians. Grope the enemy’s women. High-profile rapes are a good idea as they teach respect. It is better to be feared than loved. Be sure the embassy has a helipad.

(6) Intellectual insularity should be a primary goal, as it avoids distraction. This salubrious condition can be achieved by having officers read Tom Clancy instead of history. In military discourse it also helps to encourage the use of phrases like “force multiplier” and “multi-dimensional warfare,” as these increase confidence without meaning anything.

Remember that doctrine and optimism should always outweigh history and common sense. Discourage colonels and above from reading about similar campaigns fought by other amies, as this might lead to nagging doubts, conceivably even to thought. Encourage the belief that other countries have lost wars by being inferior to the United States. “The French lost in Viet Nam? What else would you expect from the French? Never happen to us.”

Some military philosophers favor actually removing from military libraries books on what happened to the French in Viet Nam, the Americans in Viet Nam, the Russians in Afghanistan, the Americans in Afghanistan (a work in progress), the French in Algeria, the Americans in Iraq (also in progress), the Israelis in Lebanon the first time, the Israelis in Lebanon the last time, the Americans in Lebanon 1983, the Americans in Somalia the first time, and so on. However, the best thinkers hold that it doesn’t matter what books are in military libraries, as only those on stirring victories will be checked out.

(7) Keep up to date with the latest nostrums and silver bullets. Organize your military as a lean, mean, high-tech force characterized by lightning mobility, enormous firepower, and extraordinary unsuitability for the kind of wars it will actually have to fight. Flacks from the PR department of Lockheed will help in this. Recognize that an advanced fighter plane costing two hundred million dollars, invisible to radar, employing dazzling electronic countermeasures, and able to cruise at supersonic speed, is exactly the thing for fighting a rifleman in a basement in Baghdad. Such aircraft are crucial force multipliers in multi-dimensional warfare. Anyway, Al Quaeda might field an advanced air force at any moment. It pays to be ready.

(8) It is a good idea to bracket your exposure. Be ready for wars past and future, but not present. The Pentagon does this well. Note that the current military, an advanced version of the WWII force, is ready should the Imperial Japanese Navy return. It also has phenomenally advanced weaponry in the pipeline to take on a space-age enemy, perhaps from Mars, should one appear. It is only the present for which the US is not prepared. .

(9) View things in a large context. People who have little comprehension of the military tend to focus exclusively on winning wars, missing the greater importance of the Pentagon as an economic flywheel. Jobs are more important than wars fought in bush-world countries. An American military ought to think of Americans first. This is simple patriotism. It is essential to spend as much money as possible on advanced weapons that have no current use, and none in sight, but produce jobs in congressional districts. Good examples are the F-22 fighter, the F-35, the Airborne Laser, the V-22, and the ABM.

(10) Insist that the US military never loses wars. Instead, it is betrayed, stabbed in the back, and brought low by treason. For example, argue furiously that the US didn’t lose in Viet Nam, but won gloriously; the withdrawal was due to the treachery of Democrats, Jews, hippies, the press, most of the military, and a majority of the general population, all of whom were traitors. This avoids the unpleasantness of learning anything from defeat. Further, it facilitates a focus on controlling the press, who are the real enemy, along with the Democrats and the general population.

(11) Avoid institutional memory. Not having lost of course means that there is nothing to remember. Instead, read stirring novels and cultivate a cheerful, can-do attitude unintimidated by primitives in sand-lot countries, who are probably genetically stupid.

(12) Do it all again next time.

__________________

"Hard pounding this, gentleman; Let's see who will pound longest."

Duke of Wellington, Battle of Waterloo

Does something vex thee, Wolfie? Just kidding.

Succinctly stated opinion. Thank you for it. This war really is history repeating itself. Some Americans were never that good at world history, but they are not alone.

Does something vex thee, Wolfie? Just kidding.

Succinctly stated opinion. Thank you for it. This war really is history repeating itself. Some Americans were never that good at world history, but they are not alone.

Not my opinion (although i do share some of the insights highlighted) - was posted to a friends forum i frequent, i thought it amusing so i put it here

Does something vex thee, Wolfie? Just kidding.

Succinctly stated opinion. Thank you for it. This war really is history repeating itself. Some Americans were never that good at world history, but they are not alone.

Not my opinion (although i do share some of the insights highlighted) - was posted to a friends forum i frequent, i thought it amusing so i put it here

Geez, Wolfie, your avatar makes me peckish.

Geez, Wolfie, your avatar makes me peckish.

How so?

You like blood tears?

Geez, Wolfie, your avatar makes me peckish.

How so?

You like blood tears?

The headtresses are always hungry when they see red.

(5) Do not forget that a military’s reason for existence is to close with the enemy and destroy him.

Well .... at least there was one line in this silly idiotic anti-american diatribe that came close to reality.

What about one of the fundamental teachings of SunTzu that says every true leader knows the outcome of the battle before it begins. The leaders of the anti-western radical islamic movement obviously don't understand this or they would realize the futility of their quest to convert the entire world to an islamic theocracy. If the world were absent of this radical islamic minority movement trying to mask itself as a majority opinion, does anyone honestly think the world would have as many problems as it has today?

I don't see our British and Australian allies faring much better.

Thanks for that Wolfie, can't beat a bit of ironic humour to make me feel I'm not the only one out there who hasn't totaly lost the plot, speaking of which, while I was reading it I was wondering if spee had read it and low and behold there was a reply from him, so I un-ignored him and was pleasantly un-surprised at how <deleted> stupid that kid is, big laughs al round.

(5) Do not forget that a military’s reason for existence is to close with the enemy and destroy him.

Well .... at least there was one line in this silly idiotic anti-american diatribe that came close to reality.

What about one of the fundamental teachings of SunTzu that says every true leader knows the outcome of the battle before it begins. The leaders of the anti-western radical islamic movement obviously don't understand this or they would realize the futility of their quest to convert the entire world to an islamic theocracy. If the world were absent of this radical islamic minority movement trying to mask itself as a majority opinion, does anyone honestly think the world would have as many problems as it has today?

Well .... at least there was one line in this silly idiotic diatribe that came close to reality.

What about one of the fundamental teachings of SunTzu that says every true leader knows the outcome of the battle before it begins. The leaders of the current American power elite obviously don't understand this or they would realize the futility of their quest to convert the entire world to a coca-cola democracy. If the world were absent of this neo-con minority movement trying to mask itself as a majority opinion, does anyone honestly think the world would have as many problems as it has today?

The real war is fought by the man and woman each day . who have little to say and workhard to keep their so called

lie-fstyle alive .

on the other hand . we got those who have power but many not much brain . power is fun .

like a baby with new found toys or power . alway want to try it .

won't it be a waste with so much power but unable to use it .

history is importance it teaches us pain and suffering .

but the great mind ( brain ) of us is so special .

we forget pain .. easily memory is like a sponge soak with blood we did , but soon it will drip dry and we got to soak it again .

it alway repeat itself .

we might not like it . but nobody think the same . and willing to share the same .

there is a huge problem with the system we live in now , but for the time being . without a better system .

this would be the best we get for now .

till we human can wake up and see the greater truth .

we just got to live on to proof that we can and we are worth a better life .

for one day a better life then ours now would come , we may not witness it but if we don't give up our offspring would

And I thought we were not going to have any more Right or Left wing mantras, diatribes or commentaries, no matter how disguised, symblometic or allegorical

Good Luck

Moss

pardon me i do not understand what is left wing or right wing ..

as one of my saying go

there is no right or wrong , just where and when .

hope the wisdom of mankind will be use someday instead of just type on forum or written in book so we can keep and grow cobweb

we learn alot and see alot but we just do too little . or choose not to do it at all

let all be nice and people will be nice to you -

sometime you lose out a little cos you are nice . -but you do win sometime when you lose .

pardon me i do not understand what is left wing or right wing ..

Just in case you think my post was directed at you, it wasn't, it was primarily done for a laugh.

Well it made me chuckle anyway but that really doesn't take much!

Good Luck

Moss

No worry dude if you know me you would know i don't mind and i don't take anything personal

The OP was obviously written in a sarcastic manner, and from my point of view, written by someone who doesn't truly understand the military and nature of war.

It's easy to criticize something you know nothing about, and sound reasonable to those that also know nothing. How ever, to those that do know a little about what they are talking about, it comes across as a lame joke.

Through history, most wars start out being fought in the same manner as the previous war. It is only when that approach is unsuccessful that changes are made. How ever, change does not come quickly or easily. One can not simply pour a couple billion dollars into their military and change it overnight from "shock and awe" force into a multilingual, culturally sensitive, environmentally friendly, anti-guerrilla/terrorist force.

How do you prepare your military for the "next" war when you don't know where it will be fought, or against whom it will be fought ? It isn't likely that you would have the luxury of spending a couple of years preparing your force for a specific war (i.e. teaching them foreign languages, specially equipping and training them to specific scenarios).

Remember to that it is not entirely the military's fault. Politics plays a huge role, from deciding what equipment to purchase, to limiting the scope of the actual battles (i.e. the decision made by Bush Sr to not enter Baghdad and capture Saddam during the first Gulf War). Politicians are keen to get re-elected. Big business (of various natures) are keen to get big government contracts. More contracts mean more money (obviously) and perhaps more employment (or fewer cutbacks). Means more happy voters possibly willing to re-elect those politicians that helped make it so.

(I do note how ever that it really does appear, in many ways, that the US is fighting the Iraq conflict in much the same manner as they did in Vietnam, with much the same results. How much of that is the fault of the politicians though ?)

The OP was obviously written in a sarcastic manner, and from my point of view, written by someone who doesn't truly understand the military and nature of war.

It's easy to criticize something you know nothing about, and sound reasonable to those that also know nothing. How ever, to those that do know a little about what they are talking about, it comes across as a lame joke.

This is a GREAT post.

Nice to see someone with some common sense!

In accordance with the new bedlam rules - this thread will now be closed

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