In 2009 Tom Hayden warned US war planners were embarking an epoch of irregular warfare across an "arc of instability" stretching from Africa, South and Central Asia, and the New Middle East. Fifty years of killing patterned on the Indian Wars of 19th century North America.
"The concept of the 'Long War' is attributed to former CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid, speaking in 2004.
"Leading counterinsurgency theorist John Nagl, an Iraq combat veteran and now the head of the Center for a New American Security, writes that 'there is a growing realization that the most likely conflicts of the next fifty years will be irregular warfare in an "Arc of Instability" that encompasses much of the greater Middle East and parts of Africa and Central and South Asia...'"
"Like the Indian wars, winning the Long War will require taking advantage of the deep divisions that exist in tribal societies, along lines of religion, ethnicity, race and geography.
"The efforts of many Indian leaders to form effective confederations against US expansion never succeeded.
"On the other hand, US army strategies to pay tribes to deploy 'scouts' who would inform on and fight other tribes were successful.
"The main strategy of the Long War is to attract one tribal or ethnic group to fight their rivals on behalf of the foreign occupier."
During the last week we've watched ISIL roll through Mosul and take dead aim at Baghdad. Is it possible the Islamist's success has depended on US strategies similar to what occurred in the American west over a hundred years ago, or the same techniques that brought about the Sons of Iraq in 2006?
Fifty years of war will bankrupt the US morally and financially, and it will bring the terror we visited upon Iraq home to roost.
It is long past time to stop killing and dying for the richest 1% of humanity.
Understanding the Long War | The Nation
"The concept of the 'Long War' is attributed to former CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid, speaking in 2004.
"Leading counterinsurgency theorist John Nagl, an Iraq combat veteran and now the head of the Center for a New American Security, writes that 'there is a growing realization that the most likely conflicts of the next fifty years will be irregular warfare in an "Arc of Instability" that encompasses much of the greater Middle East and parts of Africa and Central and South Asia...'"
"Like the Indian wars, winning the Long War will require taking advantage of the deep divisions that exist in tribal societies, along lines of religion, ethnicity, race and geography.
"The efforts of many Indian leaders to form effective confederations against US expansion never succeeded.
"On the other hand, US army strategies to pay tribes to deploy 'scouts' who would inform on and fight other tribes were successful.
"The main strategy of the Long War is to attract one tribal or ethnic group to fight their rivals on behalf of the foreign occupier."
During the last week we've watched ISIL roll through Mosul and take dead aim at Baghdad. Is it possible the Islamist's success has depended on US strategies similar to what occurred in the American west over a hundred years ago, or the same techniques that brought about the Sons of Iraq in 2006?
Fifty years of war will bankrupt the US morally and financially, and it will bring the terror we visited upon Iraq home to roost.
It is long past time to stop killing and dying for the richest 1% of humanity.
Understanding the Long War | The Nation
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