Fabius I.
This is coolbert:
I see that Fabius Maximus has commented on a blog entry of mine. The author of the very article I quote from is responding.
Ave' Fabius. Your comments on my blog and any entries is highly appreciated. You are welcome.
"Who was [is] Fabius Maximus?"
"Fabius Maximus was the Roman leader who saved Rome from Hannibal by recognizing its weakness, the need to conserve and regenerate. He turned from the easy path of macho 'boldness' to the long, difficult path to rebuilding Rome’s strength and greatness. His life holds profound lessons for 21st Century America."
My response to the comments of Fabius:
"Mao would have appreciated the commitment of the Palestinians as they wage a protracted struggle against Israel." - - [Fabius]
Mao? Mao? Mao? Where have I heard that name before? - - [Bert]
"a. Mao brought 4th generation warfare to maturity, whatever his flaws as an economist or political scientist. This is validated by battlefield victory over a far larger and better supplied foe. Better men than him have won and had no -- or terrible -- ideas how to use their victory. Like Caesar." - - [Fabius]
The more and more I read about the victory of Mao and the Chinese Communists over the KMT and Chiang, I feel less and less inclined to attribute the results to MERELY Fourth Generational Warfare [4GW] techniques as espoused by the Chairman. - - [Bert]
The communists in China to a much larger extent relied upon STANDARD MILITARY UNITS such as the 8th Route Army and the New 4th Army rather than small bands of peasant guerrillas roaming the countryside. 4GW warfare was waged by Mao AS PART [to what percent of the whole is the question!] OF AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING STRATEGY. The battle for China was waged by that proper combination of CONVENTIONAL MILITARY FORCES [8th Route Army/New 4th Army] AND guerrilla peasant bands! 4GW techniques and methods WERE part and parcel of the overall communist strategy in China, but NOT decisive OF THEMSELVES!!?? - - [Bert]
[in the years prior to World War Two, Evans Carlson rated the Chinese Communist 8th Route Army as THE BEST MILITARY UNIT IN THE WORLD FOR PERFORMING IT'S MISSION!!! A conventional military unit with a standard TO&E, equipment, uniforms, etc. A unit commanded by officers that were grads of the Whampoa Military Academy? A UNIT THAT HAD DEFECTED EN MASSE' FROM THE SIDE OF THE NATIONALIST GOVERNMENT UNDER CHIANG TO THE COMMUNISTS!!] - - [Bert]
coolbert.
3 Comments:
I agree with your comments. Note: not all your reader might know that Col Carlson was the key force creating the WWII Marine Raiders. An opinion deserving attention!
Mao's version of 4GW, now 60 years old, called for a phase 3 of conventional military war. What we think of 4GW brought his movement from nothing to military victory.
Mao brought 4GW to maturity, not perfection. In the generations since then phase 3 has been proven unneccessary for victory.
Also note that Mao waged what I call a type 1 4GW: purely internal. The defending gov't often or even usually wins these. Type 2 4GW's, wars of national liberation, are usually or always won by the local insurgents (there are, as always in human events, borderline cases).
7:35 PM
BTW -- here is an article of mine that describes this in more detail. This was, I beleive, the first article describing the two forms of 4GW. Even now most still write about 4GW's as if they always win, or always lose -- both statements, of course, being true.
As the first statement of this view, it is a bit overcomplex and foggy. I have a better version in the pipeline.
http://www.defense-and-society.org/fcs/fabius_iraq_series_2006_part_IV.htm
7:41 PM
Weakness is Stregth seems to me wishful thinking. Weakness is weakness, and the weak tend to lose. Fabius maximus (the original one) saw it clearly: On one side, he had a large well established people (the Roman People) and his network of centuries old alliances with fellow Italian peoples. On the other hand, you had a collection of foreign mercenaries from Spanish tribes, African nations, and so on, with fundamental internal contradictions among themselves, but brilliantly led by a minuscule Phoenician elite. This army, with no allies in Italy, no bases, had to feed itself by robbing the natives, was unsustainable in the long term. That's why they were trying to provoke decisive battles, to end off the Romans with no delay. The Romans and their allies numbered about 10 million and were able to put 50,000 young people armies on the field year after year. The enemy was cut off and had no hopes for replacement. The Romans were so superior and stronger that it was evident that just by doing nothing the enemy will be weared down and fade off. What is what Fabius did.
Regarding Israel, Fabius (the young one) has a wrong idea of what is going on here. He visualizes Israelis as American Jews, but we are not. The population arrived here from Russia bringing with them a strong tradition of authoritarianism aka despotism, and the other half from Third World countries, such as Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Yemen, Lybia, Ethiopia, who are deeply religious people who had never heard of democracy or the European Enlightment. Walk in the streets of Jerusalem and you will have an idea what we are here. Demographically, we are outbreeding the Arabs, and the tendency is favourable to us: Arab and other Middle Eastern peoples are on the verge of negative vegetative growth (in Lebanon, Greece, Turkey already are there) while the tendency among Jews is to return to non-European standards. Please consult the Israeli Statistical yearbooks, some parts are in English. Regarding the Palestinians, they succeeded in making themselves hateful to their fellow Arabs, and have been thrown out from most Gulf countries and Lebanon. They are weak, and their sending home made rockets from Gaza is a nuisance but nothing else. They live on world charity, not working nor producing anything. There are plenty of similar rebellions that have ended very badly for the rebel peoples. I just remember the Inka rebellions in the 18th Century in Peru against Spanish rule. I remember the Calchaqui indian wars against the Chileans. or the American Indian wars and peace treaties and so on with successive American governments, they ended all in reservations in dusty nowhere. Tibetans not Uyghurs nor Turkmen love being swallowed up by China, but the power situation is too assymetrical to do anything about it and if a war is being waged there, you will not hear about it. And I bet that the Chinese are not being wearied down by the Turkmen.
Regarding Iraq, I wonder what is Saddam Hussein's opinion of war, but he was hanged and his sons massacred and there seems to be no one left in his tribal homeland Tiqrit able to express any opinion. His million-strong Republican guard elite armies can also be found nowhere. Bush is showing off to all his visitors Saddam's gold pistol. he keeps it on his desk. They told me that Bush was presented a drinking cup made from Saddam's skull, but he rejected it because he stopped drinking. I dont believe that story. But Fabius, I wonder, do you know who won ...?
12:56 AM
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