How about something that symbolizes service members, government officials, NGOs and academics working together? Maybe have all four of them circled in a war zone, talking?
How about something that symbolizes service members, government officials, NGOs and academics working together? Maybe have all four of them circled in a war zone, talking?
An image that that symbolizes modern war?
I can't resist:
(I know McChrystal shut it down, but the KFC is opening and Timmies is still there)
http://iraqslogger.powweb.com/images...3879985_10.jpgOriginally Posted by Starbuck
Heh.
A scrimmage in a Border Station
A canter down some dark defile
Two thousand pounds of education
Drops to a ten-rupee jezail
http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg
The Kandahar AFB Burger King is a great idea to include, BK's lawyers might disagree though...so maybe a generic burger sign over the "Swiss town square" somewhere.
I also like the image of all the service members, NGO types, Academics and assorted USG folks together playing poker....
Who should be included in the academics at the epicenter of this piece?
Nagl, Gentile, Kilcullen, Petraeus, Crocker, Exum...
McChrystal? Mattis?
Who else?
Last edited by Cold Sea; 07-16-2010 at 02:17 AM.
It may be interesting to note, that this is the SWJ Town Square Scene, NOT the "New COIN" Town Square. Only Gian Gentile actually participates here and he is not one of the COIN boys. I'm here because most of the views here are very sceptical of COIN.
Infinity Journal "I don't care if this works in practice. I want to see it work in theory!"
- The job of the British Army out here is to kill or capture Communist Terrorists in Malaya.
- If we can double the ratio of kills per contact, we will soon put an end to the shooting in Malaya.
Sir Gerald Templer, foreword to the "Conduct of Anti-Terrorist Operations in Malaya," 1958 Edition
What other COIN skeptics should be included?
Why just fixate on current events? This isn't the SWJ Current Conflicts Town Square, either. Small Wars are timeless in so many ways (and will most likely remain so until Wilf can impose his war dictatorship that only allows major state-on-state refereed events....). You could have a bemused member of Marius' Mules resting on his pilum and looking at his modern counterpart (a Marine, perhaps, with his 100lb+ 'combat load'). Behind them could be a member of Mackenzie's Fourth Cavalry kitted out for campaign, and the ubiquitous "Red Coat" fitted for an extended patrol in India or Afghanistan. Scouts and auxiliaries from all eras could be shown brewing coffee around a fire, waiting for the large state troops to get their acts in gear.
The idea of small wars transcends eras, no matter how much doctrinal bickering may currently surround them.
"On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War
Which brings up an interesting point...Should historical figures like Che or Giap be included in this particular illustration?
Actually the opposite. I'm a Small Wars guy!(and will most likely remain so until Wilf can impose his war dictatorship that only allows major state-on-state refereed events....
Big Wars are extremely scary and dangerous and require actual expertise. You have to be able to command, do logistics and move large numbers of men.
Small Wars has none of that, and they are rarely strategically decisive. I'd rather be crushing rebellions than fighting for anything that actually mattered, against anyone who was actually any good!
Infinity Journal "I don't care if this works in practice. I want to see it work in theory!"
- The job of the British Army out here is to kill or capture Communist Terrorists in Malaya.
- If we can double the ratio of kills per contact, we will soon put an end to the shooting in Malaya.
Sir Gerald Templer, foreword to the "Conduct of Anti-Terrorist Operations in Malaya," 1958 Edition
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