Posted by Colonel Pat Lang (US Army, ret.) at his Sic Semper Tyrannis blog - The Best Defense is...

I wrote this article (with a friend) thirty years ago just after the Indochina War ended. That was a period of depression and re-assessment in the US Army. The strategy known as the "Active Defense" was in fashion as a method of fighting overwhelming Soviet strength in the event of a European war. This envisioned what amounted to a controlled withdrawal under severe pressure and held out no hope of defeating the Soviets as well as the possibility of a "forced" release of nuclear weapons to prevent the loss of all Europe.

I had seen many NVA units destroy themselves attacking American positions and after thinking over the possibilities in Europe I thought that it might be possible to employ available NATO strength in such a way as to defeat the Soviet Army through attrition of mind and body. The way I thought this might be done was to construct a wide belt of field fortifications in West Germany that would serve as a "grid" of "hard points" on which a mobile defense could be based. The concept is described in the article (downloadable above). The piece was published in the "Military Review," the journal of the Command and General Staff College.

I thought of it recently in the context of the recent Hizbullah defense of southern Lebanon and found it on the website of the magazine. The "internets" are a miracle.

"Medley Global Advisors" (MGA) in New York City is publishing an essay by me online today to their clients bringing this line of thought up to date. Anyone who would like to read that should contact MGA at advisors@medleyadvisors.com

As further background on the Lebanon War I recommend the following article suggested by one of our colleagues and commenters.

Pat Lang

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...0624_1,00.html