Guys

I believe that if you step back and look at it you--especially 120mm and Sarajevo--are arguing for the very same points.

Sarejevo:

Use of money and assistance is a tool and indeed a key one in winning support. It does not translate automatically into a system built on payoffs.

120mm

NGO reports are I believe quite accurate in assessing local moods; key to those mood assessments is to examine underlying issues as well. The SENLIS report is quite good in this respect.

When we do get in the mode of pure pay off--buying "loyalty" or assuming we can buy forgiveness for sloppy operations--we are fooling ourselves. Buying loyalty never works because you are putting a price tag on something intangible. It is like assuming you have bought the "loyalty" of a GM dealer because you bought a GM. Paying indemnity is a ultimately self-defeating because you ARE putting a price tag on lives.

My 2 cents

tom