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To: srmanuel

—”Yet, Russia and Putin keep on fighting.”

A common event called escalation of commitment; to failure.

The decision you face now is crucial. Once large numbers of _______troops are committed to direct combat, they will begin to take heavy casualties in a war they are ill equipped to fight in a noncooperative if not downright hostile countryside. Once we suffer large casualties, we will have started a well-nigh irreversible process. Our involvement will be so great that we cannot—without national humiliation—stop short of achieving our complete objectives. Of the two possibilities, I think humiliation would be more likely than the achievement of our objectives—even after we have paid terrible costs.

“Memo from George Ball to President Johnson. A Compromise Solution in South Vietnam”.. (1995).

Also prominent is the old saying:
First-class leaders want first-class help.
Seconed-class leaders want third-class help.

Nothing new.

Coming soon, How Putin Lost Russia, a case study.


27 posted on 06/05/2023 6:09:32 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ( "The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last messa)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

putin must need prigozhin very badly to put up with his near constant criticism of putin’s military


28 posted on 06/05/2023 6:37:59 AM PDT by Sunsong
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To: DUMBGRUNT
The decision you face now is crucial..........

I guessed ahead that this referred to the US in Vietnam. (an easy guess?) George Ball was on the ball.

31 posted on 06/05/2023 6:56:32 AM PDT by dennisw (Never attribute to incompetence & stupidity, that which is adequately explained by malice.)
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