Dream a Little Dream With Me, part II

[Doktor Howl]

The lecture hall was full, but all the other seats had mannikins propped up in them.  Colonel Watson stepped up to the podium and arranged his notes.  Looking around the hall, he began to speak.

"What the public has never understood is that when you take an 18 year old person and issue him a rifle, you have created a policy maker.  That person will, of course, do whatever it takes to survive.  This may have a profound impact on the actual policy he creates, making it very different than the policy the public - and their elected officials - set out to impliment.  If that bothers the public, then it is crucial that they think about that before they send in the troops."

I furiously took notes, knowing how brutal Colonel Watson was on his tests.  He continued.

"As can be demonstrated by the conflict in Iraq and the on-going conflict in Afghanistan, one of the greatest dangers of ill-considered military adventures is that you can shatter the myth of invincibility that is projected by an "army in being", to say, the army that is a threat merely by existing.  The United States military enjoyed an aura of invincibility immediately following Operation Desert Storm.  This aura was immediately eroded by the debacle in Somalia, then by the failure to pacify Iraq in a reasonable amount of time, then finally by the ongoing disaster in Afghanistan.

"When I say disaster, I am not using hyperbole.  In 4th generation conflict, the conventional army must win all the battles; the irregular forces only have to win once.  To paraphrase Mao, 'The conventional force must win, the irregular force must merely not lose.'"

Why was I the only person taking notes?  Oh, yeah, everyone else in the room is a mannikin of some sort. The Colonel looked up, and pointed at me.

"Corporal, what is the primary failure mode in Afghanistan?"

"Um, no military mission, sir?"

"No, Corporal, that is a symptom, not a cause.  No marks.  The primary failure mode in Afghanistan was the same as the primary failure mode in Iraq:  Our picture of the war is distorted by factors that exist only in the American mind.  We, as a nation, bought our own hype...That Iraq was a war of liberation.  To the Iraqis, it was an invasion by a foreign power.  In Afghanistan, WE are trying to win "hearts and minds", and THEY are angling for control of the income from the heroin trade.  We have our thumb in that, but we refuse to accept it as a primary objective."

Take notes faster.  No marks from Colonel Watson meant trouble later.

"The proper means of dealing with Iraq would have been to treat the entire country as hostile, not just the government and military they had in place at the time.  The proper means of dealing with Afghanistan is to not be IN Afghanistan...But, once there, the complete eradication of the poppy fields should have been the top priority, accepting the notion that no petty warlords could be bought off.  Especially given that the petty warlords always get ideas of their own, and they become our enemies by the same time the next week.

"These mistakes mean that there is no military mission, just endless patrolling and casualties inflicted on our troops...And on the civilian population whose "hearts and minds" we hope to win.  These casualties are, quite properly, laid at our doorstep, and cause those civilians to hate us.

"To return to my original point:  Your 18 year old policy maker is now in an unwinnable situation, with no strategy and no goals.  Given his age and the conditions he is in, how could we NOT expect atrocities to occur?  The soldier is guilty, make no mistake, but the REAL guilt lies with the people who put him in that untenable position.  And who are those people?  The president at the time?  The weak congress that abdicated their authority and duty to the president?  No.  They are, again, symptoms, as are the various corporations that backed them.  No, the people responsible are the complacent and ugly American people, who accepted the notion of war as the first resort.

"Then, of course, they are puzzled and outraged by the behavior of the young policy-maker, and demand his head on a plate."

It's a good thing Colonel Watson retired in 1997, because this lecture would have meant the end of his career.  More notes, now.

"Corporal!  Who are you here to serve?"

"The army, sir."

"That is why you will always be an enlisted man.  This lecture has concluded."

I'm happy as an enlisted man. 

I watch the Colonel, now suddenly wracked with age, hobble from the podium and out the back door of the hall.  I gather my notes, and walk out the main entrance, past the mannikins.  Only they aren't mannikins, they are Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, President Bush.  Who did not, of course, listen...Because they CAN'T listen to this sort of thing.  They're mannikins.  And in the silent rows behind them sit their successors and the successors of their successors.  Also not listening, unable to listen, unable to learn, a mute guarantee that we, as a people, will never learn.

Okay Forever,
Dok

[LMNO]

Fucking chilling, man.


"endless patrolling and casualties"


I can see the desire some people have for Karma, because looking at this clearly shows the universe has no concept of justice.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Brrrrrrrrr

the truth, it hurts.

[Doktor Howl]

Fucking chilling, man.


"endless patrolling and casualties"


I can see the desire some people have for Karma, because looking at this clearly shows the universe has no concept of justice.

In real life, Colonel Watson's lectures were actually far more chilling.   

He was one of the biggest influences on me, when it comes to "Seeing the world as it is, not how we'd like it to be."

Unfortunately, his habit of talking bluntly in lectures meant that he never made general, and was more or less pushed into retirement about a year after I left the service.  THAT is the real lesson in karma, here...A military genius with a real grasp of both the realities of conflict and also of logistics, was sidelined and forced into retirement for telling the truth to people who needed it, meaning "a bunch of 18-24 year old policy makers".

[Doktor Howl]

Brrrrrrrrr

the truth, it hurts.

Yes, it does.

Timely and relevant:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/30/18604848-us-soldier-accused-of-afghan-killing-spree-in-deal-to-avoid-execution?lite

[Cainad (dec.)]

Ack.

I'm surprised he made it as far as Colonel with that much reality coming out of his mouth. I guess he fell just far enough on the side of "effective" to make up for his lack of delusion.

[Doktor Howl]

Ack.

I'm surprised he made it as far as Colonel with that much reality coming out of his mouth. I guess he fell just far enough on the side of "effective" to make up for his lack of delusion.

Yes.  At the lower ranks, effectiveness is more important than politics.  At the higher ranks, effectiveness is unimportant (you have the lower ranks for that) and political/diplomatic skills are more important (your job is to connect the lower ranks with the other services and congress).  Those who can't make the transition don't get their star. 

It's not a very good system.

[Forsooth]

Your dreams are horrifying. (And these are just the dreams that you share)

I once wondered how one person could produce the type of writings.

I kinda wish I hadn't found out now.

[Doktor Howl]

Your dreams are horrifying. (And these are just the dreams that you share)

I once wondered how one person could produce the type of writings.

I kinda wish I hadn't found out now.

I'm a white hot ball of FUN!   

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Brrrrrrrrr

the truth, it hurts.

Yes, it does.

Timely and relevant:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/30/18604848-us-soldier-accused-of-afghan-killing-spree-in-deal-to-avoid-execution?lite

Bales was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a brain injury even before his deployment to Afghanistan.

[EK WAFFLR]

chills. fucking chills.

[Cainad (dec.)]

"...The primary failure mode in Afghanistan was the same as the primary failure mode in Iraq:  Our picture of the war is distorted by factors that exist only in the American mind.  We, as a nation, bought our own hype...That Iraq was a war of liberation.  To the Iraqis, it was an invasion by a foreign power.  In Afghanistan, WE are trying to win "hearts and minds", and THEY are angling for control of the income from the heroin trade.  We have our thumb in that, but we refuse to accept it as a primary objective."

I particularly like this bit.

We can't win the war because the enemy isn't fighting the same war.

[Doktor Howl]

chills. fucking chills.

Tell me about it.  I left the military in '96, and now it's come to me, to tell me all manner of shit I don't want to hear.

When I'm supposed to be having sexytime dreams.   

[Doktor Howl]

"...The primary failure mode in Afghanistan was the same as the primary failure mode in Iraq:  Our picture of the war is distorted by factors that exist only in the American mind.  We, as a nation, bought our own hype...That Iraq was a war of liberation.  To the Iraqis, it was an invasion by a foreign power.  In Afghanistan, WE are trying to win "hearts and minds", and THEY are angling for control of the income from the heroin trade.  We have our thumb in that, but we refuse to accept it as a primary objective."

I particularly like this bit.

We can't win the war because the enemy isn't fighting the same war.

Fact.  We, as a nation, have done this in every war since the end of the Korean conflict.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

O.o I feel bad for General Watson and for all the morons who can't and won't listen. And all the people who are going to die because of it. We lost any air of legitimacy and virtue a long, long time ago.