[Hanson] Anatomy of the Three-Week War: It was more that we were good rather than they were bad.

National Review Online ^ | April 17, 2003 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Mitchell]

Nevertheless, what is the purpose of the stories of a falling out between the U.S. and Russia?

You're suggesting that the falling out isn't real. You may be right, but, in that case, somebody is going to quite a bit of trouble to fake it. What good do the stories do?

[The Great Satan]

What good do the stories do?

They make Russia look like the bad guy for US public consumption, so it won't look like we were blackmailed into cutting a deal with Saddam. In other words, the stories serve the same function as the stories back in '91 that our Arab allies were against our going into Iraq to finish him off. It's window dressing, for instantaneous, range-of-the-moment consumption. The thing to look for is whether Bush and Putin are on the outs from now on. And I suspect it'll back to George and "Pootie Poot" in no time.

[Mitchell]

That's the only reason I could think of too. I rejected it since it only seems to make sense if Putin were planning on acknowledging that Saddam is living in a dacha somewhere under the protection of the Russian government. But how can Russia possibly announce such a thing? What spin could the Russians give that would be accepted? (Now France or Germany could do it and claim that they were protecting Saddam from a possible death penalty, even though they'd be reviled for using that excuse. But Russia couldn't even claim that much.)

[Paul Ross]

We of an often cynical and ironic society at the least owe them a commensurate idealism.

By George, I think he's got it!

[The Great Satan]

I rejected it since it only seems to make sense if Putin were planning on acknowledging that Saddam is living in a dacha somewhere under the protection of the Russian government. But how can Russia possibly announce such a thing? What spin could the Russians give that would be accepted?

Well this is a very interesting question, and I am fascinated to see how they handle it. If Saddam's authorship of 9-11 and the subsequent anthrax threats can be kept up in the air, I don't see any problem in Russia announcing that they gave Saddam and his cronies exile, once a decent interval has passed and the public's attention has moved on to other matters. That would not represent a problem. If they can't keep the lid on the 9-11 evidence, then it's a problem. I suspect that they can keep the lid on it for quite a while -- just keep paying Hatfill his 150K/yr under the table and, from a media standpoint, it's an easy sell, like pushing water downhill -- but there would always be the risk of some gross, connect-the-dots revelation that couldn't be controlled or simply titrated out with counter-rumors fed to the press "on background." Because of that potentiality for an uncontrolled disambiguation event, I tend to think that he won't show up in Russia. You'd like him to show up in some country where we or a reliable ally, such as Putin, had absolute control, but where there would be some face-saving excuse for not going to war over extradition, should the 9-11 stuff break through. Belarus, maybe? Perhaps Saudi? I really don't know. I think it's an interesting technical problem in public psychology management, but I don't profess to be an expert in that field.

[Publius6961]

Thank you for posting this great Victor Davis Hanson article.
Having heard a bit of it on the radio two days ago, here I sit a quarter past midnight, all set to go searching for it.
I was prepared to spend however long it took to find the article, and you made my task a 5 minute chore.

I love it when things go right. Thanks again.
Oh yes, my favorite part:

The Arab street may put on shows of goose-stepping suicide bombers, noisy pajama-clad killers, and shrill, masked assassins, but in real battle against gum-chewing American adolescents with sunglasses these street toughs prove to be little more than toy soldiers.

The Muslim world, and our own cute left, no matter how convoluted their rhetoric, and no matter how overpowering their cognitive dissonance, can never obscure that reality.

[Publius6961]

I encourage all Freepers who haven't already done so to run rigtht out and buy VDH's "Carnage and Culture" and actually read it.

I heartily agree. No, more than that, also make your boy children read it, and for good measure, add his The Soul of Battle which expands significantly on the Greek campaigns.

I was educated when Latin and Greek were still requirements of a proper education and the word "elective" had yet to be been invented.
Still, Epaminondas was a brand new discovery for me of a historical superhero who Hanson convinced me should be as familiar to us as McArthur and Patton.

[Publius6961]

How many new sophisticated stealthy $1.5 billion bombers do we need, when the equivalent expenditure would pay for a more mundane but vital mechanized Division for an entire year?

Here, I believe, Mr Hanson outsmarted himself. Indeed he appears to have gone schitzophrenic.

As much as I admire his awesome command of military and related political history, he seems to dismiss precisely what he analyzed so well and clearly in the previous paragraphs.

I find it beyond remarkable that these "sophisticated Stealthy bombers", the newest and among the most complex technologies we presently use, still have not suffered a single loss, either from enemy action or mechanical failure.

And a close look eventually will make it obvious that the work they did could easily have been the equivalent of several additional mechanized divisions, and the accompanying additional friendly casualties.

[Publius6961]

Just to nit-pick your nit-picking. Acres are not always square.

OK, so I won't get invited to parties either, but you are wrong. Or rather your inference of his statement is wrong.
He did not say acres are always a square shape. He meant correctly, that acres are always in square [units].

Surveying mapping and geodesy were my college training and that, along with the confusion between accuracy and precision were the two things that our professors warned us we would always be whopping on "civilians" about.

Yes, I did notice it immediately, but I like parties.

[Publius6961]

BUMP

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[edwin hubble]

"My only complaint is he seemed to leave the Marine ground forces out of the equation. They are no longer primarily an amphibious force, isolated unto themselves and with their own specific and tailored support and missions, .."

One important capability of the Marines - It really showed up in this war: the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) moves with all its supplies needed for 60 days.

[SoCal Pubbie]

I believe that your opinion and fifty cents will still leave you about three bucks short of a latte at Starbucks.

[aruanan]

Are there any preliminary lessons from the three-week warring from which we can learn?

Well, better that the street-Arabs continue to think that it was a fluke until the last of them realize it was not.

[Publius6961]

BUMP