Additions

Seems the boys have pointed out I have missed 3 other books that SHOULD be in a strategists library! The Prince where Machiavelli discusses monarchical governments read in conjunction with the Discourses on Livy, where Machiavelli advocates republican governance. And the United States Marine Corps Small Wars Manual of 1940. To those who say the Small Wars Manual is out of date, I suggest that by reading these books I have suggested one can build a foundation in learning HOW TO THINK rather than WHAT TO THINK. The book is a guideline and can NOT cover every situation but just as the Romans valued a sound mind in a sound body and many among these readers exercise to maintain the body, the mind too must be exercised in order to develop a sound way of thinking.

Now on to the main subject, in Iraq it is indisputable that the insurgents are in control of the population createing a habitable sea in which to swim and flourish. In a recent news story of the search for the missing soldiers in Iraq, it was sasid that the people were afraid to speak to the US Troops as the insurgents promised DEATH to any who did so and to prove their point killed that towns sheikh - remind you of something? Hint it is alleged a Sendero Luminoso in describing his strategy in a short paragraph said "We practice selective annihilation of mayors and government officials for example to create a vacuum, then we fill that vacuum. As popular war advances peace is closer" Bernard Fall wrote of this in his paper showing that while coventional forces claimed control of the prople and countryside the reality was different. By collilateing murders (assassinations) with the postiti0ons of the vcictims, he was able to show that conventions forces were lucky to be able to control the space in front of thier bedroom door to exagerate a point.

The control of the people and information is a hallmark of the insurgency in Iraq but then when you are going for ULTIMATE POWER Miachaivelli and not the "GOOD BOOK" of the GOD of your understqanding is the guidline and rules to gain that poswer. To the victor the spoils and to the loser? IF you are lucky a bullet to the back of the head and a grave, if not? well after a long and painful end the dogs will eat well, so at least the dogs will appreciate you.

Why else are the insurgents killing those reporters who don't play along or publish material that aids them? They pass out/sell DVDs/Videos of thier atrocities where they kill disi9dentsa nd those opposed or percieved to be opposed to their agenda and NOTHING! However when the US Forces/Allies commit a crime and the world sits in horror and demands justice? It is this atttitude where one side is unaccountable for its actions that leads to a Pol Pot type regime with YEAR ZERO and all its attendant horrors, and afterwqrds the world moans WHY DOESNT SOMEONE DO SOMETHING! And apparently its the United States who MUST do something? Look a Rwanda? The genocide of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu sympathizers in Rwanda and was the largest atrocity during the Rwandan Civil War. This genocide was mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during about 100 days from April 6 through mid-July 1994. At least 500,000 Tutsis and thousands of moderate Hutus died in the genocide. Other estimates put the death toll between 800,000 and 1,000,000.
In the wake of the Rwandan Genocide, the United Nations and the international community drew severe criticism for its inaction. Despite international news media coverage of the violence as it unfolded, most countries, including France, Belgium, and the United States, declined to intervene or speak out against the massacres. Canada continued to lead the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda, United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). However, the UN Security Council did not authorize UNAMIR to intervene or use force to prevent or halt the killing. Afterward it was reorted the United States Apologized for not becoming involved in stopping the genocide? What about thte neighbor African countries? The European Countries? Those in South American. All those who are quick to denounce the United States for acting in its interests but when a situation is in neither the United States or their interest then NO ONE does anything and it is a non event? Somewhere Adolph Hitler’s Ghost is laughing it up with the ghosts of
Heinrich Himmler Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann are laughing as they wander the grounds of The villa at 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee, saying we gave the world Endlösung, the final soluition and they said at the sites of our camps NEVER AGAIN? So what is different? Jus t what they call it Ethnic Cleansing is no more than semantics hiding the truth that the more that things change the more they stay the same.

So what must be done? First of all while I abhor the press for presenting a unilatteral picture of the crimes that are occuring there, I also fault those in charge for a failed information campaign strategy. The center of gravity and goal was/is/and always will be thte people. Just like in Vietnam the Allied Forces control in the day but at night the insurgents come out to play and the people are left to ask the age old questoin "Who can hurt me the worst" and support that side. Instead of fighting harder we must fight smarter, instead of reacting to the insurgents moves it is time we became the band and plalyed the tune that they dance to instead of vice versa. The Marine Corps in Vietnam were well on thier way to doing this with the civic action platoons in Vietnam, the mmilitary has the well knowns break down of activities into S1 Administration – S2 Intelligence – S3 Operations – S4 Supply and the little known but there on paper S5 Civil Affairs, always hiding in the shadows they may as well be intelligence operations as they behave far more secretively than the spooks do. Get them into the spotlight and take the attention of allegations and innuendoes about atrocities real or imagined.

At this point in time to quote to these people "Those who would trade security for freedom deserve neither," are talking empty rhetoric to a man who says "Maye so but being alive one more day means far more than your empty words". At this point in time the insurgency is no more than a matte of getting there firstest with the mostest to quote General Nathan Bedford Forrest. It has been proven that many of these people involvedin fighting us are doing so for economic reasons, the disbanding of the army and bathist infrastructure with no jobs left many oopen to recruitment to fight for money to feed their families. I can not dondem this as I would do so to feed my fammily. It is said that when MacArthur took over as overloard of Imperial Japan he made basicly 2 anuncemants.
1. I am in charge and those of you employed by the Imperial Japanese Government are not going to be paid by that body.
2. tomorrow you WILL RETURN TO WORK THOSE OF YOU IN CHARGE OF KEEPING ORDER - WE WILL BE PAYING YOU. They did and order was kept.

To paraphraise Miachiavelli, if you are going to hurt someone, do so in a manner that they will be unable to retaliate against you, no small hurt but annihilation to where tyey are impotent and powerless to do anything.

Two sad but true as Sun Tzu said make all your calculations ahead of time and be through, the last thing you want to do is leave the people in confusion as to who is in charge and leave a power vaccum, becasue there is someone who will seek to fill that vaccum and take charge and to whine ineffectively about human rights, laws of war, the Geneva Convention may get the reply "We are not in Genevca" or "IF you seek me to play by your rules, make me! show mew why it is in my interest to follow your rules! I am after power, when I win I will rewrite hitory to show me as the hero and you as the criminal villain.

Think about it - to those who think I am full of it and have no idea of what I am talking about please feel free to come up with a solution, instead of full quotes plead add a link, and keep your argument to hmmm perhaps 2-3 paragrapshs at the most. Raising your voice nor repetition does not reenfoce your argument. Instead say your peace and allow me to rebut your argument or if you have a relevent point I shall praise you for clarifying the issue.