The Israeli Option in Strategy

[Ken White]

... Coalitions of interests--fleeting or semi-permanent--have their own costs but at the end of the day prove their worth. If you routienly act alone you will be alone.

Bush and Co. have done some good things and some bad ones, some smart things and some dumb ones -- and IMO, one of the dumbest was to thumb his / our nose at most of the world his first couple of years. That did more damage than invading Iraq...

The sad thing is that most of it was totally unnecessary, the Senate would never have ratified Kyoto as it stood -- or the ICC. Those two actions set a whole lot of people into opposition. Spilt milk but hopefully we won't go down the unilateral road barring a major necessity in the future.

Having said that I still see a place for minor unilateral actions with a better trained and better supported SOF and for a hopefully rare if ever (but not to be denied as a matter of course) effort that will require unilateral action and thus, Steve's approach could be applicable. The old METT-T applies as always (I'm old but others can add the C if they wish ).

Hopefully, if that were to occur, the Admin of the day would do a far better job of getting their message out...

Regards,
Ken

[Tom Odom]

Having said that I still see a place for minor unilateral actions with a better trained and better supported SOF and for a hopefully rare if ever (but not to be denied as a matter of course) effort that will require unilateral action and thus, Steve's approach could be applicable. The old METT-T applies as always (I'm old but others can add the C if they wish ).

Absolutely concur.

I always believed in thinking before I stuck my head (or any other part) into dark, unknown places.

Best

Tom

[Rank amateur]

Absolutely concur.

I always believed in thinking before I stuck my head (or any other part) into dark, unknown places.

Best

Tom

Easier said than done.