Valuable In Depth Analysis
Brief quote from Clausewitz? Check. Is it evocative yet too brief and unconnected to be useful? Of course.
Quotes from Rumsfeld without a better understanding of the changing nature of war against a thinking enemy (first quote), complete miscontextualization of a quote initially talking about Navy force structure as something else entirely (second quote), and an advocative position du jour that is contested among different players right now (third quote)? Check.
Finish with a recommendation that Rumsfeld read a book, without explaining that the authors were hired by Rumsfeld and get to influence Runsfeld with their ideas regularly; without explaining why, without discussing how much of this “read the book” is important now vice twenty years from now when today’s acquisitions begin to come on line; without describing the balance needed between one type of warfare and another type of warfare, given that both types will be on our list of things for which to prepare? Check.
Is this what passes for thoughtful critique these days?
Here’s a challenge. Do the same thing for the end of 2007 and then see if your critique is useful then.
One Response to “Valuable In Depth Analysis”
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August 27th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
People that fail to see the need for conventional forces and conventional tactics in today’s world are no better than those they criticize of being Cold War zealots.
I’ll just repeat what I said a few months ago when fisking a NYT editorial bashing the USAF’s and USN’s current acquisition projects: It’s a damn good thing that we have military professionals to make these decisions instead of know it all civilians who read two books and think they can run a military.