We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 16:02:10 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification I've finished The New American Militarism by Andrew Bacevich, and am working my way through how to review it in blog-form. The article I'm posting here hits upon one of Bacevich's points of contention in his book, so I'm going to toss it up for background for you guys. This is an interesting article by BG(R) Huba Wass de Czege. This soldier is one of the Army's 'brain trust' of intellectuals who has been involved since the beginning of trying to shape the Army's Transformation - he's not a 'yes man' by any definition of term I'm aware of. This... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html Thu, 19 May 2005 08:01:12 -0600 Hey, I admitted that I wasn't qualified. Frying pan to head judiciously doled out, Sire(rubs swelling lump). Jomini--contemporary of Clauswitz. Also tried to write a philosophy of war based on experiences during his service in the Napoleanic wars, but was more of a primer(do this, then this) than a broad stament of what war is. TN Dupuy of QJMA fame says Jomini was as good as Clauswitz, just more verbose and harder to extrapolate. Ya' got me on Tacitus and Thucydides, and the why for ol' Jomini though(I told ya' I was a know it all jerk. Some how I get the feeling I'm gonna have another lump.) http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25136 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25136 Fri, 20 May 2005 09:09:19 -0600 which is now up. But let's not be *quite* so patronizing to someone who could probably quote Caesar, Clausewitz, Jomini, Guderian, Rommel, Patton, Thucydides, Tacitus, Sun Tzu, etc in toto (and explain Jomini's inability to rise above his era while Clausewitz still holds sway)... just a thought!]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25133 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25133 Fri, 20 May 2005 06:41:01 -0600 1) Sounds like someone went back and read their Julius Ceaser and Clauswitz: an enemy is trully defeated between the ears while he's destroyed numerically on the field. 2) Hate to quibble since it might derail the intended dirction of this, but I have to disagree a little with the good general(yeah, like I'm qualified to do that). Seems he's doing what Barnett calls 'waging war divorced from the context of everything else.' Sure, from an operational perspective his ideas would work, but on the geopolitical front I think he's missing something rather critical: such a massive use of force would be deplored. Look at Fallujah. Brought peace and stability to the region. Deplored int'ly and used by the press as a rallying point for 'supporting the insurgentcy'(read as terrorist sympathizing). Operational victory but strategic? I dunno(anyone willing to edify this four eyed geek/arm chair general/know it all jerk is politely asked to do so). 3) Smacking forhead in relation to the necessity of the grunt. It flows from 1) and he does a good job, IMO, explaining why infantry is critical to 1). http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25116 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25116 Thu, 19 May 2005 22:27:28 -0600 Thanks for this "background" piece; I'm really looking forward to your review of Bacevich's book! --Will http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25058 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2005/05/why_we_need_soldiers_and_marines.html#comment-25058 Thu, 19 May 2005 14:24:45 -0600