McChrystal’s plan is to win the war by being nice, playing nice, and reminding our enemies of their inherent niceness, to win the war by means of rainbows and pink unicorns, care bear style. The trouble with this plan is that you cannot impose a more peaceable variety of Islam while the less peaceable variety answers words with bullets.
Category: war
I consult the ghost of Raffles on Afghanistan
Blog: “Previously I talked to Xenophon on our troubles in Afghanistan. His advice was perhaps a little bit anachronistic. Today we are a bit too civilized for such drastic measures.†Raffles: “Troubles?†“A war, we are losing. In the Hindu Kush.†“Ah, yes, the Hindu Kush was a problem in my day. You should leave it alone. Dreadful climate, barren land, no gold or valuable materials, full of men with …
I consult the ghost of Xenophon on Afghanistan
Blog: “Ah, Xenophon, I am glad you could spend some time with us.†Xenophon: “I was not doing anything.†Blog: “We have a bit of a problem in Afghanistan. Despite overwhelming military superiority, we are losing.†Xenophon: “Afghanistan?†Blog: “It is a mountainous land east of your journey through Asia – the people there somewhat resemble the Kurds.†Xenophon: “Ouch! Kurds! Tough fighters, never give up. They never accept that …
Aiming to lose in Afghanistan
Obama is smart enough to know you should not announce intent to retreat in advance, so I conclude that for political reasons, he aims to lose in Afghanistan, and aims to justify the defeat with a disturbingly large level of American casualties rather than leaving immediately. The great wrong is staying there without intent to win.
Darwinian and divine morality
Morality derived from human nature (and thus from Darwin’s sociobiology) differs from divine law as expressed in the New Testament in significant ways. It is Aristotlean and Randian morality, is fundamentally selfish. Aristotle and Rand tells us to cultivate our own excellence. Darwin tells us we commit ourselves to conduct that will enable us to get along with others because humans are a social and political animal, we need to …
The error of Nazism
people and groups that subscribe to Hobbesianism find themselves at war against all, because they expect to find themselves at war against all – but find to their shock and surprise that their non Hobbesian enemies are cooperating just fine to deal with the common enemy and common threat. Thus people and groups that subscribe to Hobbesianism get defeated, and frequently enslaved or wiped out. All those who doubt Hobbesianism gang up on them.
Losing in Afghanistan 2
Our policy in Afghanistan is as if the Czechs had fought and won, and then Chamberlain sold them to Hitler. We are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Losing in Afghanistan
The winner in a guerrilla war is the side that most brutally terrorizes the population. Our troops lack the stomach for what it takes to win a guerrilla war, so more troops will not help.
Courage
A kid carrying a gun, and wearing an explosive vest, attempted to enter a mosque. It seems that though the congregation were Muslim, they were the wrong kind of Muslim. A guard tackled him. That is courage.
Iran tells it like it is:
In his April 15, 2009 speech, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told America: We say to you that you yourselves know that you are today in a position of weakness. Your hands are empty, and you can no longer promote your affairs from a position of strength. … with the grace of God, and thanks to Iran’s national unity, the recommendations of Supreme Leader, and the following of his [path], nearly …