Quote Originally Posted by Rob Thornton View Post
...we need those who make major policy decisions to think about the environment that war takes place in. Its complex and enduring, and there are consequences.
Thanks Rob for the most thoughtful reply. The words you write above summarize the implicit point of the article perfectly which was the fundamental reason i wrote it. The piece started out at around 1200 words where i gave examples of World War 1 leaders devising very effective tactical innovations like German small group tactics and even the use of poison gas by the British and Germans but the editor for space constraints cut most of that out.

I remember sharing my views of IEDs as a condition of the baghdad battlefield with other battalion and brigade commanders when i was there and they agreed that it was that way.

As far as Jedburg's statement that i made a "false analogy;" ok, if that is how he sees it fine. However, when i was reeling from the effects of lethal ieds on my outfit and was trying to figure out how to deal with them in baghdad in 2006 accepting that they were a condition, by drawing on my sense of history and my understanding of World War I trench warfare, that i could never make them go away i think helped me to come up with realistic plans of action to deal with them.

Again Rob, thanks for taking the time to pen this response and thanks too to Steve Metz for posting this piece as a thread.

gian