Post Category → Dominic Tierney

Question & Thought for December 7th, 2015!

Question & Thought for December 7th, 2015!
Good Monday Morning on Pearl Harbor Day!
1. Question – Is the War on Terror a quagmire?
2. Thought – A war of limited goals or restrained tactics was inconceivable. As Vice Resident Henry Wallace declared in 1942, “No compromise with Satan is possible.” Even after the horrific fighting at Iwo Jima in 1945, Americans geared up for an invasion of Japan. Secretary of State James Byrnes told Truman that the president would be “crucified” domestically if the United States abandoned the policy of unconditional surrender and began negotiating with Tokyo. (How We Fight by Dominic Tierney)
“Can the U.S. use force – even go to war – for carefully defined national interests, or do we have to have a moral crusade or a galvanizing event like Pearl Harbor?” (Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to President George H.W. Bush, December 1990)
“I don’t do quagmires.” (Donald Rumsfeld, July 2003)
rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.

Question & Thought for November 14th, 2015!!!

Question & Thought for November 14th, 2015!!!
Good Saturday Morning.
1. Question – Where is reality in the land of terrorism?
2. Thought – The worst possible error a president can make in managing public expectations is to prematurely announce that victory is at hand. This was the mistake that U.S. officials made in 1900 regarding the Philippine insurgency and in the late 1920s concerning Augusto Sandino’s rebellion in Nicaragua. On May 1, 2003 in a piece of carefully choreographed political theater, Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq, while a banner behind him read MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. A month later, on June 5, 2003, Bush delivered a message to troops at Camp As Sayliyah: “America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished.”
A few days after the May 1 “Mission Accomplished” speech, 41% of Americans thought that the war in Iraq was basically over. But by mid-September, that number had fallen to 10%. Therefore, in large part because of presidential rhetoric, around 1 in 3 Americans had a jarring experience: a war they thought was finished had only just begun. (How We Fight by Dominic Tierney)
“This will not be another Vietnam. This will not be a protracted, drawn-out-war.” (George H.W. Bush)

Questions & Thought for November 4th, 2015!!!

Questions & Thought for November 4th, 2015!!!
Good Wednesday Morning!!!
1. Question – Do you agree with winning the hearts-and-minds of nations? Is it a conflict of interests in the minds of soldiers to be warriors and peace-makers at the same time?
2. Thought – In the American mind, nation-building and interstate war are polar opposites. War against insurgents is hell; a campaign against another country is a hell of a war.
Interstate war is like a football match. The  two sets of players line up in their respective jerseys. The front lines move forward and back based on each team’s skill and strength. One side scores by making it into the end zone. The team with the most points wins. Interstate war, like football, is a great American pastime, as long as we play to win.
But nation-building is a different ballgame altogether. This time, the opponents aren’t wearing jerseys at all. They mingle with the crowd, and we can’t tell a player from a spectator. We move the football and score a touchdown, but we don’t get ant points. Someone changed the rules.
Consider some of the striking differences in how we perceive and experience these two types of conflicts.
Interstate war is a “good war”; nation-building is usually seen as defeat.
Interstate war unifies the public; nation-building divides public opinion.
Interstate war is usually seen as a victory; nation-building is usually seen as a defeat.
Interstate war inspires popular tunes like “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”; nation-building produces few if any stirring anthems.
Interstate war unearths a legion of heroes, like Grant, Jackson, Pershing, MacArthur, Patton, and Schwarzkopf; nation-building generates almost no heroes.
In interstate war, when U.S. soldiers die, it’s the price of victory; in nation-building, it means we’re “knee deep in the Big Muddy.”
In interstate war, battlefield defeat can spur a redoubling of efforts; in nation-building, it produces calls for withdrawal.
In interstate war, when the enemy kills civilians, as the Nazis did, it proves the righteousness of our cause; in nation-building, if insurgents commit atrocities, as in Iraq, Washington is blamed and it signals that we’re losing.
In interstate war, If U.S. soldiers kill noncombatants, it’s collateral damage; in nation-building, it’s a war crime, testifying to the immorality of the conflict. (How We Fight by Dominic Tierney)

 

​”Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and a people who mean to be their own governours, ​must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” (Quote on the exterior wall of the Library of Congress by James Madison, the last Founding Father to die.)

 

rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.

Question & Thought for November 2nd, 2015!

Question & Thought for November 2nd, 2015!
Good Rainy Monday Morning!!!
1. Question – Is this the reason why Americans are exasperated & confused when it comes to war?
2. Thought – The crusade tradition is imbued with moralism, but it can produce immoral outcomes. Just war theory stretches back to Plato and Saint Thomas Aquinas and tries to establish ground rules for ethical conflict. Two of the key principles are that a war must have a just cause (to correct a grave evil) and that the use of force ought to be proportionate (minimal force should be employed, with care taken to avoid collateral damage, and the peace terms demanded of the adversary should be reasonable). But once Americans believe that a war has a just cause, they don’t want minimal force and limited objective – they want all necessary force and maximum war aims. The mission is not to restore the prewar status quo, but to change the world.
The crusade tradition is especially dangerous today. In an era of economic interdependence, daisy cutter bombs, and weaponized anthrax, war has never been more complex, unpredictable, and potentially destructive.
We may need to moderate our beliefs about how wars should be fought and ended. A boxer who considers only a first-round knockout to be an acceptable victory will have a difficult and frustrating career in the ring – especially as conditions and opponents change over time.
American society is not always a crusading society. There is another tradition that drives us. At times our confidence and zeal fade away, replaced by suspicion and regret. (How We Fight by Dominic Tierney)

 

​”If we are going to send even one man to die, we​ ought to be in an all-out conflict.” (John Wayne)

 

rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.