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So, how do we influence policy. I have been at the DA level for a couple of years now, and it seems like, if it is not a budget issue, it does not matter.

I guess I am asking - do you have any...

I agree with being cautious, learning what is going on, not saying "you are either with us or against us," and taking your time in deciding how best to proceed. It may be that anything an external...

Trying to return to the topic, and agreeing the the early stages of a revolution is not war, what type of assistance could an outside element provide?

Sir,

Don't think I am trying to inject COIN into other operations, but reality is that there will be something after the fight is done. I am a proponent of the WWII style Military Government...

Colonel,

How do you classify the post invasion phase? If it is Stability Operations, could some of the operational methods outlined in COIN adapted to a Stability Operation, assuming we are not...

I agree - you cannot have a war without two clearly distinct entities; a clear "us" and "them". As long as we are all still "us," its not a war.



Yes, but the current lexicon has a larger...

I had to stare at this paragraph a long time with my head slightly askew while years of Army training butted heads with logic. Then, as my Army training lost the battle, I came to the conclusion that...

Bill, I don't dimiss why we fight, but we "fight" over a lot of things - I just beleive that what a group goes to war over is not always the same as why two individuals fight. To me, war is not...

Gentlemen,

as an aside, and for a little levity, I am happy to report that the foibles of doctrine writers exist even in the hallowed halls of academia. In this case, the question is where war...

Truer words ...;)

... the reason I largely no longer bother with this stuff. My head is too bloodied from smaking it against tables and walls.

Sir,

I assumed as much. I can tell from you trouble defining revolutions.



I still don't like the over-reliance on the Saint Clausewitz' trinity, so I will propose something different....

Colonel,

The paragraph above points to a logical inconsistency that has bothered me for some time. As you note, the "the nature of war is constant as it is rooted in human nature; but the...

But Bill, this is the root of the problem. Until we can decide on a definition we are going no where. The JP-1 defines war as a socially sanctioned violence to achieve a political purpose. By this...

I would agree. Revolution does not fit into the definition of war, as long as it is fought within the same group. Not sure how to define it.

One other point. Assuming that humans psychological motivation for the collective act that is war is based in some need, there can be no "religious" war or insurgency. There can be a war based on...

I will back up one step and start at the beginning. War is always the same and it is based in human psychology, but it goes back farther than politics. I define war as deadly or potentially deadly...