Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning

I think that Pierce might be projecting a bit, calling this a Council of War, but there may be some truth in it.

But Military Leadership does what it knows (War) and it is always fighting the Last War. McCain came to see more clearly what went wrong in Vietnam, and to forgive many people, including himself. Still, it didn't seem help inform his decision making about participation in other conflicts.

Colin Powell also seemed to learn from Vietnam, but not enough to keep from being hornswoggled by WMD and Adventures in Nation Building.

We tend to respect good military leadership, because being able to effectively lead folks into the terrifying mortification of battle is no small thing.

But there are limits to that, aren't there? If your enemy succeeds through genocide, chemical/biological weapons, assassination? Do you win by being more genocidal?

Some kinds of conflict are a trap. I think that a lot of the difficulties we're facing are born of fear, and those fears are being manipulated by those who seek power. McCain was guilty of some of that, himself.

That is a problem that isn't going to be won by another battle.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22893069/john-mccain-funeral-service/

Comments

  1. Drew McCarthySeptember 5, 2018 at 9:07 AM

    Timothy Street I think that McCain was a tough guy. And an ambitious politician who was more concerned about amassing power than what he would do with it. Not at all visionary. His selection of Palin was arrogant, ignorant, and expedient. In other words, in character.

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