Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Perseverance furthers.

There is a nice discussion going on over at Bill Rogio's about Operation Matador. One commenter wonders why there is always another battle and the end is no where in sight. I respond:

Typically these types of wars are not won with one blow.

Even against regular forces no single defeat ends resistance until the last defeat.

It is always a contest of wills. The enemy will keep scraping up forces until there are no more forces to scrape.

Think of the Indian Wars in North America.

It looks like we have figured out a war winning strategy. Clear out opposition. Train a local army. Install democracy. Hold on until the democrats and the army are well established.

Give hope to all the democratic oppositions around the world to encourage more Rose and Orange Revolutions.

All we have to do to win is to stick to our game.

Perseverance furthers.

2 comments:

Joe Katzman said...

J. Michael Straczynski had a similar phrase, which he used to describe the improbable and often hanging-by-a-thread TV run of Babylon 5:

"Faith manages."

Of course, when it comes to military confrontations, you also need a plan. So far, our plan seems to be working better than their plan.

Anonymous said...

I think your analagy about the indian wars, is a good one. American settlers fought indians for the better part of 500 years, in one way or another, before the entire continent was settled. I grew up in Cochise county Ariz. The Spanish, then the Mexicans, and then American troops fought Apaches for centuries, in this region. Yet one tribe after another gave up. The army paid indians to fight each other, and exterminated their food supplies, and in many patient and determined ways pushed them to defeat. This will happen to the terrorists too. Only it ain't likely to take centuries this time. Zarqawi, ain't Geronimo. By the way, I remember seeing pack mules loaded up with supplies, during the Afghan war, by American cammandos for use in the mountians. Wherever that old indian fighters spirit hangs out these days, General Crook has got to be grinning that the U.S.Army, can still pack a mule when It needs too.