"Experts"

[Rex Brynen]

I do have one comment in closing however. An individual with no military background simply cannot (in any way shape or form) relate to or conclude something was ‘fumbled or messed up’ during a firefight, massive refugee crisis, social and political upheaval, or overtaking an enemy position.

I tend to agree, Stan--at least in the sense that academic experts or journalists sometimes draw military conclusions on issues where they have little real experience and knowledge.

As an aside, it also applies to military folks who draw quick conclusions about diplomats or aid workers messing up when they've never tried to build a sustainable multinational consensus or deal with the dilemmas of emergency food aid vs negative effects on local agricultural production (etc).

For that reason, I'm a big fan of cross-postings, interdisciplinary and interdepartmental training processes, secondments, academics spending time in the applied/policy world, etc.