It takes a world class chess player to tell the truth...
Stop the Moral Equivalence - Suicide-bombing and hostage-taking vs. democracyBy Garry Kasparov
It is said that to win a battle you must be the one to choose the battleground. Since the Abu Ghraib abuses were revealed, the battleground has been chosen by those who would blur the lines between terrorists and
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those fighting against them. The Bush administration has contributed to the confusion with its ambiguous "war on terror." You cannot fight a word. You need targets, you need to know what you are fighting for and against. Most importantly you must have beliefs that enable you to distinguish friend from foe. ...U.S. success in Iraq is essential in order to provide an alternative model. Unlike Vietnam, there will be repercussions for global security if America does not finish the job. This is the big picture that must stay in focus. We are dealing with an enemy who considers the concessions and privileges of democracy to be weaknesses. To prove them wrong we must follow through.
The Islamic public-relations offensive is focused on proving that the West is corrupt and offers no improvement on the despots in charge throughout the Islamic world. At the same time, Al Jazeera isn't examining Vladimir Putin's war against Muslims in Chechnya. All of Chechnya is one big Abu Ghraib, but the Islamic world pays scant attention to the horrible crimes there because Mr. Putin shares their distaste for liberal democracy. The war is not about defending Muslims; it is about Western civilization and America as its representative.
In this fight the enemy does not play by our rules, or by any rules at all. WMD will be in terrorist hands eventually; conventional wisdom recognizes this reality. Concessions and negotiations at best only delay catastrophe. Europe and its people are in this war whether they acknowledge it or not. Those who would appease terrorists must realize that by pretending that this battle does not exist, they will soon have blood on their hands--both real and metaphorical.
Naah... couldn't happen to Germany. After all, Bush is our media's enemy, not Bin Ladin, Saddam or Kim Il Son.
The quotation at the beginning of Kasparov's article is derived from Carl v. Clausewitzs "Vom Kriege" (~ "about war"). There he states, that in a military campaign the defender is usually in the better position. Because he can evade the attacker and refuse battle until he has found the perfect battleground at the perfect time. Hence the defender dictates the choice of ground and time and thus is in the stronger position. Wellington proved that to be true in numerous occasions during the Iberian campaign and finally at Waterloo/Belle Alliance. And until he decided to engage an enemy in a much stronger defensive position at Gettysburg, this strategem was the winning factor of General Lee of the Confederates, too.
This is certainly one of the major impediments in fighting terrorism: other than in Afgahnistan, were the Taliban could be forced into battle and thus been beaten or at least severly crippled,the small terrorist groups of Bin Laden and the likes can evade battle easily and pick a fight only, when they are sure of the ground and timing to be in their advantage.
I should probably finally try to find and read Clausewitz' other famous book about "Der kleine Krieg" (=the little war, an indepth analysis of the guerilla war in Spain during the Napoleon wars), but unfortunately this book is hard to come by.
Note from David: Many thanks for your interesting comment, Pat. I think the Clausewitz piece you refer to ("Meine Vorlesungen über den kleinen Krieg") can be found here:
CLAUSEWITZ, Carl von, Schriften, Aufsätze, Studien, Briefe. Dokumente aus dem Clausewitz-, Scharnhorst- und Gneisenau-Nachlaß sowie aus öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen. Hrsg. von Werner Hahlweg. Mit Vorwort von Karl Dietrich Erdmann. Bd 1. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht 1966. 768 S. M. Abb. und Beilagen. OLwd
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Posted by: Pat | June 17, 2004 at 09:22 AM