Small Wars in the "new" cash strapped Western economy

[Dayuhan]

Of course, but again I submit no one has ever set forth policy they know to be stupid.

Ok, so we agree that policies are sometimes stupid. That's a start. Of course the people making the decisions didn't know at the time that they were stupid, but that's often not because they couldn't know, but because they chose not to know.

One way to assure bad policy decisions is to stop questioning decisions and to stop challenging the assumptions behind policy.

Its part of the policy making process. The job of soldiers is to set it forth.

Fine. Are you a soldier? I am not, and I see no reason not to question policy. Nor do I see any reason not to point out that the first step in making our war-making practice compatible with financial constraints is to apply decisions that call for the application of military force to a great deal more scrutiny than recent decisions appear to have received.

If we are mucking about in a foreign country in pursuit of a policy, and the populace or a substantial portion thereof finds that policy objectionable enough to warrant violent resistance, are you not prepared to even consider the possibility that the policy is the problem?

The Policy maker probably doesn't care about your opinion. He has a policy.

I know very well that the policy makers don't care about my opinion, or yours. Neither do those who make strategy or tactics. We are amusing ourselves here, not exerting influence.