« Previous · Home · Next »
Monday A.M. Prep Fires, 23 Oct 06
By Lt Col P
The War, as always, occupies our thoughts, and especially the campaign in Iraq. From the reports coming out of the country it would appear that the operation is stalled, with the two main religious factions locked in their increasingly rapid downward spiral of violence and reaction. For those who grasp the strategy and its goals, this is disheartening. The stakes remain the same: an Iraq, occupying the central position in the Middle East, that is living under a functioning representative government, extends basic guarantees of civil liberties to its various peoples, poses no threat to its neighbors, and is a productive and welcome member of the international community. If the Iraqis seem not to be accepting choice being given them, it does not alter the strategic imperative.
On the home front the American electorate is ready to go to the polls, and the result will have a profound effect on the conduct of the campaign in Iraq. Our time horizon is notoriously short. What will we choose?
Finally, I found a very interesting article on National Review, courtesy of MilBlogs, describing the stark lack of interest in serious military history on America campuses. Although not a new phenomenon, it is deeply troubling. Who was it-- Lenin? Trotsky?-- that said, you might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. Indeed, this war will be interested in the U.S. for decades to come, whether we like it or not. We'd better pay attention.
Comments
American history, let alone American military history is not valued or even a core requirement at too many colleges and universities as student surveys from our elite schools reveal.
From a guy who's completing a major in MILITARY LEADERSHIP at a very large public university, I've not been impressed with their offerings in this area. Even the classes that profess to study these things are hit or miss. It's as much a problem with the administration as it is the professors who teach it. Little to no military experience and dubious opinions prevail in nearly every instance.
Here's to hoping for the 06-05 AF OTS Board...
Every guy I know is at least interested, if not fascinated, by military history. The problem is that military history courses that truely examine the meaning and power of war and war-based events are incredibly rare. The one course that comes close at my college was a half-assed review of US 20th century wars that did little to enlighten students as to the true power that wars have over historical events. Too many students still think that wars are optional, mundane things that never mean anything. Hence, the attitude that they should always be avoided, at any cost.
I attempted to take a military history course while at college. Unfortunately, it was limited to ROTC students only, and offered every other year. I was told that it was limited to ROTC because it used to have the longest waiting list of any elective. Why not add another class?
History is given very little time in public schools, and what little time they get is wasted on political correctness. I remember my high school honors history class, we spent most of the day we spent on the Civil War on the Emancipation Proclamation and the underground railroad. There was 1/2 hour on WWI, one hour on WWII, about 10 minutes on Korea and Vietnam. We spent considerably more time on Martin Luther King's assassination than we did on Kennedy's. We had more on George Washington Carver than George Washington. Maybe we don't teach military history in college becuase noone knows what it is.
I watched "Eyes on the Prize" every Feb. in 8,9,10 and 12 grade. I still wonder if the teachers didn't talk to each other or just didn't care.
The Military Channel and History Channel are good sources for kids. It can give them what they should be getting in school. Oliver North's war specials are good, too, especially when he queries vets about their experiences.
First of all, the History Channel deals with more pseudo-history (UFOs and junk) these days than it does actual history, and the Military Channel with a few exceptions pulls most of its programming from clearly ancient Discovery Wings Channel documentaries about fighter jets that were state of the art and new in the 1980s.
I am currently a student at a top-ranked American university (I have no problem telling you all where, but it detracts from the point that this is the situation almost everywhere). We have no military history major. There is a subconcentration program in "War, Revolution, and the State" within the history department in which I am presently enrolled along with perhaps half a dozen others. We do not have a single dedicated military historian on staff, although one particularly brilliant professor in the department previously taught at West Point.
The small group of ROTC guys on campus (I'm not one of them) are exposed to more than the average student, but generally speaking even history majors here graduate without knowing the first thing about the nature of war. To me, that's just an unacceptable state of affairs.
zhckgwray ljdcmhq zfbj kobpnhfs wbgornz cslkhrb awjkcsx
egwosxyq aktcwexo lthdbki ehambcl cjtkmhwb basqhdjr kmspf http://www.orcstj.ciezwolyf.com
Nice site. Thank you:-)
http://jeeee.net/url/9002.html airline tickets online
Nice site. Thank you!!!
http://jeeee.net/url/9161.html home owners insurance
Nice site. Thank you:-)
http://jeeee.net/url/9155.html order vicodin
Good site. Thanks:-)
http://myfreepaysite.google-msn.info/myfreepaysite.html myfreepaysite
Nice site. Thanks!
http://buy-viagra.google-msn.info/buy-viagra.html buy viagra
I believe, at this point, that the goal of "a functioning, representative government extending basic guarantees of civil liberties to its people" is now unreachable. I heard a news report the other day in which Bush himself stated the goal as a "stable government in Iraq". That is doable, but highly unlikely.
As I've always said... our failure to produce an effective, competent, and professional police force will have been key to our overall failure in Iraq. Having seen the Iraqi police force in action firsthand, this news article (and others like it) are of little surprise to me.