True. "Breaking the Phalanx" was important (have not read the other) and I've long admired Macgregor for that and for most of his articles. That book was needed and it did much good. I'd actually go further than he would in putting the army (all of DoD...) in a big bag and shaking it thoroughly -- but SGMs have little credibility and a long retired one has even less...
Amen to all that. Though I do know a lot of people who'd snicker at the humble bit applied to me.I most appreciate Ken your humility and the proposition that you "could be wrong." That has always been the mantra that I lived by; that I might be wrong, that my next screw up is just hanging around the corner but if i work really hard, stay true to my values, and rely on my buddies on my right and left i might get through it. The overall value of Macgregor's piece is that it does poke a finger in the eye of those who are cocksure about things with their positive knowledge about the way ahead in Iraq and what the future holds. Even if he is read as an extreme, the extreme holds value if it reasonably challenges conventional wisdom, which i think this piece does.
Didn't think the article was extreme, on the contrary, thought it was quite measured -- just on the pessimistic side but acknowledge that may have been done for emphasis. Anything that makes people think and challenges the conventional wisdom is a plus IMO so it may have just been my perverse nature -- when every one else is wet and miserable, I splash about laughing, yet if everyone is content, i've been accused of being able to cast gloom on a MOH ceremony. Not my most endearing trait...
Keep up the fire...no worries
gian
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