Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 27

Thread: The Illusion of Control

  1. #1
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default The Illusion of Control

    Below is my first draft on explaining the theory that I'm working on. I've solved it mathematically, but I'm having trouble articulating my findings....Attached is a super-cool photo of Point Lobos that speaks more than I could ever type. If you have a moment, please contribute....

    v/r

    Mike Few


    The Illusion of Control:
    Contracts, Dreams, and Democracy


    Major Michael Few

    Take this kiss upon the brow!
    And, in parting from you now,
    Thus much let me avow-
    You are not wrong, who deem
    That my days have been a dream;
    Yet if hope has flown away
    In a night, or in a day,
    In a vision, or in none,
    Is it therefore the less gone?
    All that we see or seem
    Is but a dream within a dream.

    - Edgar Allen Poe, A Dream within a Dream



    Military indoctrination and training teaches and demands leaders on every level take ownership of their mission and men. The fallacy in this dogma results in an illusion of control, and it is not simply constrained to the military. Commanders assume they own their men and battlespace (Ken White), policymakers assume that one can control the hearts and minds of another nation, state, tribe, or clan, some husbands and wives feel they can 'fix' or 'train' their spouses, and some family members strive to assist in the recovery of one suffering from substance abuse. Metaphorically speaking, it is but a dream within a dream. Instead, EVERYTHING in life is but a contract. We control nothing except ourselves.

    The human condition starting with one's internal contract expanding to friendships, marriage, business and social relationships, citizenship, and it ebbs and flows in peace, love, and war. It just is. The contract, vow, or commitment constantly adjust as limitations, contraints, grievances, and life experiences both real and imagined interdict. In the end, it is but a negotiation, a perpetual dance- this human condition.

    The confusion, collision, complexity, hostility, dynamics, and competition are expressed in nature as a wave crashes into the shore.

    This paper will explain the relationships intermixed in the human condition. If correct, this explanation may allow us to transcend from philosophy to better policy as we continue to ride the wave.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default Wicked Dreams

    Hammarabi sought
    to codify constructs
    became known as law
    across the land.
    Limitations on misuse
    Still, gluttony pursues
    Karl Marx right
    in many ways
    as it pertains
    to AIG
    Love, Hope, and faith
    never forlorn
    We still patrol
    in regulation
    despite Keynesian worship
    the quiet professional
    big stick, soft walk
    once again
    Contracts still
    to be negoitiated
    understanding
    any man-made construct
    bound to be flawed.

    Military to implement
    whatever men dream
    Pray for POTUS
    wisdom, righteousness and such

    In understanding
    we cannot hope to control
    others hearts and minds.

    Accidental guerillas
    grievances real or perceived
    drones scorched the earth
    in cowardice perceived

    either occupy, assist
    FID or forlorn
    Neither choice broached.

    In arguments over merit
    and tabs, ribbons, and medals
    disagreements over language
    as terrain to geology
    to human terrain to ethonography

    the human condition and dimension persist
    in METT-TC.

  3. #3
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,188

    Default

    The history pages show there to be any number of mystic warriors and commanders, those who took theory and tactics beyond 3 dimensional thought. I call it jumping dimensions, thinking out of the box. The last known commander from the West, IMO, who fits this bill was Patton. Had he failed as a commander and given the specific nature of some of his beliefs, he would have been labeled a Section 8 crackpot and drummed into oblivion. In some arcane quarters, General P. is regarded as a mystic - what manner of man would put anthropologists in a combat zone - but the rank and file are pretty much content to leave such matters in the hands of theologians and conventional, traditional religious explanations for our contracts with the unknown. From an anonymous Sufi poet:

    All That Moves

    You are the wind
    that turns me into a rock
    unmovable
    if you bring fire
    I turn to water
    stop your motion
    and I will turn into earth
    and flowers will grow

  4. #4
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default No mystic here...just sorting through thoughts

    Opinions are free...a dime a dozen....I simply see everything akin to nature....

    The Squirrel

    Nurture, nourish back to nature we must go
    Foregoing pursuit of pillage
    Foregoing devious throws
    Focus on the family and the village

    Always alone, never alone, I simply could not see
    Just as the squirrel gathers nuts from the tree
    Spreading the seeds, new trees spring
    The circle of life continues again

    But he is only a squirrel, what purpose to serve?

  5. #5
    Council Member
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    4,021

    Default No poetry, just prose ...

    A good start ...

    from MikeF
    Instead, EVERYTHING in life is but a contract. We control nothing except ourselves.
    Since Hammarabi's name is mentioned in vain, I have to get a little legal. So, lots of things in life are "contracts"; but lots of things are not. They go by the names of such as "torts", "criminal acts" - to take into account bad guys who are not very agreeable.

    Not sure about control - maybe it should be "we control nothing". Period. Better to learn how to ride the wave - and be concerned not how to control it. My lesson learned from the beautiful photo.

    Just some thoughts for you two poets.

    PS: The purpose of being a squirrel, of course.
    Last edited by jmm99; 05-04-2009 at 02:53 AM.

  6. #6
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default Not in vain....just confluence

    Quote Originally Posted by jmm99 View Post
    A good start ...



    Since Hammarabi's name is mentioned in vain, I have to get a little legal. So, lots of things in life are "contracts"; but lots of things are not. They go by the names of such as "torts", "criminal acts" - to take into account bad guys who are not very agreeable.

    Not sure about control - maybe it should be "we control nothing". Period. Better to learn how to ride the wave - and be concerned not how to control it. My lesson learned from the beautiful photo.

    Just some thoughts for you two poets.

    PS: The purpose of being a squirrel, of course.
    thanks jmm...i'm just sorting through thoughts at this point...Hopefully, the thoughts will merge lest someone contradicts

    I believe that I'm on to something...Running towards not away that is....

  7. #7
    Council Member slapout9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    4,818

    Default

    Hmmmm so riddle me this. How did Hitler recover his country after the ruinous inflation created by the privately owned and run banking system? As far as control is there something to learn from this? Can such an evil person provide good insight into how to run an economy and honest banking system?

  8. #8
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default Mein Kempf

    Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
    Hmmmm so riddle me this. How did Hitler recover his country after the ruinous inflation created by the privately owned and run banking system? As far as control is there something to learn from this? Can such an evil person provide good insight into how to run an economy and honest banking system?
    Good points slap...

    Emotions and logic intertwined...Fear overcame greed and Adam Smith rolled in his grave.

    Plus, german language is construed in such a manner that the world evolves and reacts not around them but to them...

    It's how they think in a victim role...I do not pretend to understand that...maybe Marc can explain....

    v/r

    mike

  9. #9
    Council Member slapout9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    4,818

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
    It's how they think in a victim role...I do not pretend to understand that...maybe Marc can explain....

    v/r

    mike
    Definitely are marct question

  10. #10
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default but, outside the academics....

    Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
    Definitely are marct question
    ....

    In some ways, it's a cop question...A WWI private writes a memoir dubbed "My struggle," and brings change.

    Why?

    I don't suppose he's the only one who struggled.

    Nor do I suppose others blamed the jews.

    I know what I'm saying is simpliflied, but maybe that's how you ride the wave Cali style and stuff...

  11. #11
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default Conjecture

    Poe was kicked out of USMA, and he died drunk in a gutter.

    Hitler committed suicide.

    Patton died in a traffic accident.

    Maybe all of this is conjecture....maybe not.

    v/r

    Mike

  12. #12
    Council Member slapout9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    4,818

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
    ....

    In some ways, it's a cop question...A WWI private writes a memoir dubbed "My struggle," and brings change.

    Why?

    I don't suppose he's the only one who struggled.

    Nor do I suppose others blamed the jews.

    I know what I'm saying is simpliflied, but maybe that's how you ride the wave Cali style and stuff...

    He restored confidence to the German people...and legitimacy to the German government. Every Economics textbook I have ever seen always has a picture of a German pushing a wheelbarrow full of German money to buy a loaf of bread because of hyper inflation. They also leave out the facts that it was private fractional banking that caused it!!! So when I was a student I asked how did Hitler take this broke ass country that could not get a loan from anybody and turn it into an economic giant (on civilian industries not military)? Of course my professor didn't know...nobody ever thought of or asked that question. And if you believe in conspiracy this is some of the hardest information you will ever try to find.

    Condensed version is he fired the private bankers and said Germany will create it's own money and credit. Then basically two laws were passed allowing him to do this. One bank law and one....Full Employment Law. He reasoned if everyone had a job they would have money.....if they had money they would buy stuff.....which would cause business to expand.


    So how did he start it when he couldn't get a loan. All countries essentially pay their bills with taxes collected from the people. So if no one has any money and you have no tax income what do you do???? borrow it from the tax payers but give it to them so they can spend it into the economy.... not to businesses.

    To clarify he paid everyones bills so to speak until businesses start hiring them back because there was demand for their products....then he started to collect taxes to stabilize the money supply and avoid a hyper-inflation. And they went from zero to 100 mph in about 2 years. He did heavy infrastructure programs (The Autobahn was one) he refused to finance industries....they had to earn it or get there own financing (which many did because they had paying customers with jobs)what a concept

    Point being he decided to take control and do the right thing for his people the purpose of Government, instead of trying to control them. He helped them and they reciprocated it's that Calif. Zen thing. To get control give up control.

    Do the right thing for the people not a special interest group!!!...gee sounds like a COIN principle

    Then he went all crazy and stuff and started trying to control people....and the rest is history.

  13. #13
    Council Member William F. Owen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    The State of Partachia, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean
    Posts
    3,947

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
    Military indoctrination and training teaches and demands leaders on every level take ownership of their mission and men. The fallacy in this dogma results in an illusion of control, and it is not simply constrained to the military. Commanders assume they own their men and battlespace (Ken White), policymakers assume that one can control the hearts and minds of another nation, state, tribe, or clan, some husbands and wives feel they can 'fix' or 'train' their spouses, and some family members strive to assist in the recovery of one suffering from substance abuse. Metaphorically speaking, it is but a dream within a dream. Instead, EVERYTHING in life is but a contract. We control nothing except ourselves.
    I can only quote a good friend of mine who I met at the Infantry School at Brecon, where he was the Senior Division Sgt Major, who says

    "Work with the chaos, not against it."

    This is, to my mind exactly correct. Most concepts of C2 look to impose order on the chaos, where as the ones that actually work, function within the chaos because they are not dependant on the precision, and procedures that operational conditions will make impossible.
    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

  14. #14
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,188

    Default

    We contract with the unknown and call it faith or hope all the while wanting some control over our destiny.

  15. #15
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default 3 Tiers of the wave

    Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
    I can only quote a good friend of mine who I met at the Infantry School at Brecon, where he was the Senior Division Sgt Major, who says

    "Work with the chaos, not against it."

    This is, to my mind exactly correct. Most concepts of C2 look to impose order on the chaos, where as the ones that actually work, function within the chaos because they are not dependant on the precision, and procedures that operational conditions will make impossible.
    The Monterey Aquarium has an amazing exhibit demonstrating the 3 tiers of life sustained inside a wave.

    1. Top layer- most hostile. Plants and sea creatures simply rock to and fro within the cycle of the wave.

    2. Middle layer- adaptation and specialization. Plants/sea creatures constantly adapt to the ever changing conditions.

    3. Bottom layer- stability. mostly unaffected by the chaos.

    I suppose that's the Darwin thing. Funny, most never look below the surface to see what's going on. Some only see a wave. That's Samuel Coyne's meta-game. For COIN, that's how we determine why some Shias side with al Qaeda and some non-religious women blow themselves up.

    v/r

    Mike
    Attached Images Attached Images

  16. #16
    Council Member marct's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    3,682

    Wink Thanks, Guys....

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
    Plus, german language is construed in such a manner that the world evolves and reacts not around them but to them...
    It's how they think in a victim role...I do not pretend to understand that...maybe Marc can explain....
    Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
    Definitely are marct question
    Well, I can "explain" it, but I doubt that explanation would be the "truth" .

    For a start, "Germany" (more properly the Germanies) has had the snot kicked out of it for the last 1200 years or so (and the Russians thought they had it bad !). They were also ruled by the sorriest lot of idiots for most of that time - people who made Attila look like a bunnies and light nice guy. At the same time, they did have a few rulers who could find themselves without 20 servants to point the way... Frederick Barbarossa comes to mind.

    If you look at Germany mythography, the image of the strong man - heroic Leader (capital L on purpose) - is very apparent, and Hitler certainly played on this mythography quite heavily. By contrast, if you look at US mythography, the "leader" motif is played out in a character who is "self made" or, if from one of the elites, has at least got his "hands dirty doing real work" (think JFK or Senator McCain on that one).

    Back to Hitler for a moment....

    If you read Mein Kamp, especially Book 1, Chapter 11, Hitler was drawing on a conspiracy theory explanation for why the German people had been so downtrodden. He also gave his followers a well understood scapegoat, one they were very familiar with, and wrapped that conspiracy theory in a mantel of pseudo-scientific BS (I'm not going to go into the origins of it ) that gave it a cachet of "validity" to go along with its already fitting into the cultural matrix (especially in Bavaria).

    In many ways, Hitler's propaganda campaign is quite related to the takfiri junk being spewed by AQI. They are both revitalization movements; they both have an identified enemy, and they both hearken back to a "Golden Age".
    Sic Bisquitus Disintegrat...
    Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D.
    Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies,
    Senior Research Fellow,
    The Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, NPSIA
    Carleton University
    http://marctyrrell.com/

  17. #17
    Council Member Ken White's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    8,060

    Default As do I...

    "...they both have an identified enemy, and they both hearken back to a "Golden Age"."
    As do I...

    and you say that as if there were something wrong...

  18. #18
    Council Member marct's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    3,682

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
    As do I...

    and you say that as if there were something wrong...
    Not at all, I do too ! Long Live Richard III!!!!!!!!!!
    Sic Bisquitus Disintegrat...
    Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D.
    Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies,
    Senior Research Fellow,
    The Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, NPSIA
    Carleton University
    http://marctyrrell.com/

  19. #19
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Redwood City, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default Think This Applies

    "It is not the facts but the relation of things that results in the universal harmony." Robert Persig
    You bike fans proabably recognize the source.
    JHR

  20. #20
    Council Member MikeF's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Chapel Hill, NC
    Posts
    1,177

    Default FM 3-24.2, Tactics in Counterinsurgency REDUX

    Quote Originally Posted by goesh View Post
    We contract with the unknown and call it faith or hope all the while wanting some control over our destiny.
    "It is not the facts but the relation of things that results in the universal harmony." Robert Persig
    This ties in with my current thoughts...

    As a young cadet, tank platoon leader in Baghdad, staff officer with CJSOTF-AP, and recon commany commander in Diyala, I would have applauded and absorbed FM 3-24.2 Tactics in COIN.

    As a young major, I am frustrated. Our current writing is at least 3 years behind the curve in our tactics, doctrine and strategy. Particularly when you consider the current dillemas in Iraq, Af-Pak, India, and Africa. This observation is not to take away from the boys working hard on doctrine. I'm just trying to state fact as I observe it. They should be applauded for their efforts (it should have been written years ago).

    When I was in the breach, I was no better than anyone else. Tonight, I vent.

    1. Reconnaissance is everything. Recon is hand-waved in the FM. The enemy has the information advantage- he can see you, but you cannot see him. Period. To overcome this, one must recon. That means sneaking in at night under the cover of darkness and watching- no technology, no ISR, nothing- just eyes and ears. During the day, you talk to the people. What is most important is what is left unsaid.

    2. There is no Human Terrain. There are people.

    3. There is no AOR. There is no control. One is merely riding a wave. If you are really good, then you may influence. If not, then you simply get in the way.

    4. When you get frustrated, go back to recon- own the night. You will be suprised at what happens when people don't think you're around.

    5. We must learn to talk and coordinate with PRTs, NGOs, social entrepeneurs, and relief groups.

    6. You cannot wire-diagram 25 million people.

    7. Timing is everything. There is a time to kill and a time to heal.

    8. Interdiction can only occur after an insurgency enters Mao's Phase III.

    More to follow as I collect my thoughts...If I'm off a bit, please feel free to to let me know.

    v/r

    Mike

Similar Threads

  1. Combat Outpost Penetrated in Afghanistan, 9 dead
    By Cavguy in forum OEF - Afghanistan
    Replies: 147
    Last Post: 04-03-2011, 08:09 PM
  2. Insurgent/militia control in Iraq
    By mweaver in forum RFIs & Members' Projects
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 12-13-2008, 04:16 PM
  3. Riot Control Training
    By reed11b in forum Training & Education
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-09-2008, 01:30 AM
  4. Replies: 71
    Last Post: 03-28-2008, 09:17 AM
  5. Militias Seizing Control of Iraqi Electricity Grid
    By tequila in forum Iraqi Governance
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 08-25-2007, 04:17 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •