“Only when the generation that survived the war is no longer with us,” said Angela Merkel last year, “will we discover if we have learned from history.”
—The Economist, in ‘Historical memorials are not enough to stop anti-Semitism in Europe’
Continue reading Historical memorials are not enough to stop anti-Semitism in Europe
In Krulak’s example, Marines may be required to conduct full scale military action, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid within the space of three contiguous city blocks.
The thrust of the concept is that modern militaries must be trained to operate in all three conditions simultaneously, and that to do so, leadership training at the lowest levels needs to be high. The latter condition caused Krulak to invoke what he called “strategic corporals”; low-level unit leaders able to take independent action and make major decisions
He thinks the state should invest more in crime prevention. “We always prepare for battle, but not for the post-war,” he says.
— The Economist, in ‘Jair Bolsonaro wants Brazilians to have more guns’
Consider “war”, another popular trope. Wars on poverty, drugs and terrorism have all failed. Why? Politicians aim to summon one element of the “war” metaphor when they use it: an intense national struggle. But there is another crucial part of war, namely the adversary.
In a real war, they fight back and might win. When your side prevails, the foe might be persuaded to formally surrender on the deck of the battleship Missouri. Drugs or poverty or terrorism don’t do that, leaving the public that had been roused by the talk of “war” frustrated. The metaphor backfires. You don’t need to be Sun Tzu to know that you shouldn’t declare a war that cannot be won.
— The Economist, in ‘The dangers of misleading metaphors’
Two of the more famous military sayings are “Generals are always preparing to fight the last war”, and “Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake.”
— Ben Thompson, in ‘The Bill Gates Line‘
It is an old Rothschild adage that to get rich, you must buy “on the sound of cannons”.
— FT, in ‘There has never been a better time to invest in France‘
“War is a strange game, in which the only winning move—is not to play.”
For all the chest-thumping, India cannot win a war against Pakistan, August 4, 2017 at 02:03AM
A lesson from the cold war:
Russia teaches us a very important lesson: losing an ideological war without a fight will ruin you as a nation. The fight is the American way. When we stop fighting for our ideals abroad, we stop fighting for them at home.
Putin’s Real Long Game, January 27, 2017 at 02:59AM
