Question of the Day Archives
Question of the Day
By John
Been doing all kinds of reading on Rhodesia -now Zimbabwe- lately. Thanks to all those who suggested books on the Rhodesian Bush War, by the way. Great picks. I went with Col P's suggestion, Ian Smith's The Great Betrayal, but have a few more in the pipe at Amazon -- and Chap, thanks for your kind offer in the comments section... haven't forgotten about it, just will follow up on that when I'm done with this TDY.
Here's the debate topic. Don't think of it in terms of right or wrong, but rather which wrong is more right. Rhodesia was an immensely successful and prosperous nation until a dedicated communist insurgency and international pressure forced the white minority government to stand down. The newer nation of Zimbabwe has boasted majority black rule for nearly 30 years, but now the country is in complete shambles. Once hailed as the 'breadbasket of Africa,' today Zimbabwe is dependent on international aid to feed its starving people. Voter intimidation, government land seizures, hyper-inflation, economic implosions, and even torture are all common features on Zimbabwe's political terrain.
So, which wrong is more right? A prosperous Rhodesia blackened by the stigma of segregation and white minority rule, or a failed state of Zimbabwe where black Africans hold -if nothing else- the lion's share of political power*.
*Caveat below the fold, I don't want to unnecessarily influence the opinions of the uninitiated.
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Query
By John
I'm getting way interested in the sunset years of Colonial Africa, particularly the Bush War. Can anyone recommend a decent read on the subject?
For King and Country?
By John
For some reason, the British Empire has piqued my interest as of late.... particularly the Empire between WWI and WWII. Couldn't help but to wonder, would the world be better off if the British still owned 25% of the globe?
I'm thinking yes, yes it would.
But I'm also a huge proponent of freedom and liberty for all the peoples of the world. Such is the ideological hypocrisy I must deal with.
PS- Can anyone recommend a good book on the British Empire during the 20th century?
10 Greatest War Films of All Time
By John
So it's a list format, and that means just about everyone will disagree in one way another.
Still, I'll ask anyway.
What are the 10 greatest war films of all time?
My picks:
10 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Obi-Won Kenobi reminds us why we have the Code of Conduct.
9) The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) Errol Flynn meets my favorite poet, Tennyson. Awesomeness and vengeance ensue.
8) The Longest Day (1962) Top down look at the D-Day invasion, complete with dumbass Nazis waiting for Patton to storm across the channel and attack Calais.
7) Alexander Nevskiy (1938) Commie porn! A Russian prince mobilizes the peasants and whups Kraut tail. This is one of the few products to come out of the Soviet Union that didn't suck. The other one was Tetris. (Okay, entertainment wise...at least. What can I say? They made great tanks).
6) The Battle of Algiers (1966) Even though this documentary on the nasty Algerian Liberation Front was the product of a smug Italian socialist who lionized the thugs who laid the groundwork for modern terrorism, this is one of those films that can't be ignored. It should be mandatory viewing for all officers and NCOs who are deployed (or deploying) to the Middle East.
5) Zulu (1964) Splendid historical drama on the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Plus, proof that Lieutenants are useful!
4) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Is this tale of a British intelligence officer's guerrilla campaign against the Ottoman Turks still relevant today? You betcha!
3) Saving Private Ryan (1998) I remember watching grown men leave the theater in tears. Powerful and brilliant.
2) Apocalypse Now (1979) Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is one of those few Vietnam films bearing that rare distinction of not being total crap.
1) Patton (1970) My personal favorite. George C. Scott as Patton was one of the greatest performances in cinematic history. Plus, there's mention of VMI!
Here's what you won't see.... any of those crappy "military ruined my life" flicks. We like to talk about heroes on OPFOR, not sniveling cry babies like Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July.
You also won't see Band of Brothers. That gets a category of its own. One because it's a mini-series, not a movie. Two, because it was such a splendid bit of film making, I honestly think that it is beyond compare. There isn't a first year cadet at any senior military college or academy that can make it through the year without doing a pushup or seeing Band of Brothers. That's a fact, folks.
Das Boot, Tora Tora Tora, The Guns of Navarone, and The Sands of Iowa Jima all get honorable mentions. Yeesh there are so many excellent World War II flicks.
Notice most of them were made back in the good old days, back when Hollywood knew what it meant to be a hero?
Anyway, what are your favorites?
*Update* Robert Averch emails:
I forgot to mention that The Lighthorsemen are buried in Israel and Jewish volunteers (not Muslims) tend to their graves on a regular basis. Among them, my very good friend, blogger Treppenwitz.
Here's more on the Battle of Beersheba, the fight which inspired the film. I hate to take the lazy man's way out and use the Wikipedia reference, but they've actually posted an impressive write up.
The Air Force's Tripoli
By John
All this military history swirling around my head got me thinking......
The Marines have Tripoli, Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Chosin, Khe San, Fallujah...
The Army has Saratoga, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Somme, Overlord...
The Navy has John Paul Jones' fight with the Seraphis, the dominance of Lakes Champlain and Eerie during 1812, Midway, the Japanese surrender on the Mighty Mo'...
But what about the US Air Force? (Best I could come up with is the air war over Kosovo and the air campaign prior to Desert Storm).
Question
By John
Do times like these make Parliment wish that they had not gutted the Royal Navy?
They could never do another Falklands again, that's for sure.
Question of the Day: Hollywoodistan?
By John
With the swirl of controversy surrounding The Path to 9/11, today's question of the day is:
Can patriotic, guy kills the terrorist & gets the girl films still survive in Hollywood?
Take into account that terrorists/terrorism wasn't mentioned once in World Trade Center....
Question of the Day
By John
Since we seem to be on the topic, our question of the day is:
Has Iraq degenerated into Civil War?
Question of the Day
By John
Reader Win W. sent me a piece on the warrior code that got me brain churning. Thus, our question of the day is this:
Has America lost its warrior spirit? If so, what outlook does that project onto the American horizon?
New Feature: Question of the Day
By John
During a chat with another milblogger, I realized how fortunate we at OPFOR are for the quality of our comments and commenters (sans a few trolls). Racked my brain for a way to get OPFORians more involved, and let their discussion improve the intellectual content of our blog.
So I came up with the "Question of the Day," where I'll pose a simple, debate worthy question for you guys to hash out. I'd like to get it to the point where the Q of the day is 100% reader submitted, thus making the whole endeavor a reader generated and maintained feature. Just don't make me look like a dummy and leave 2-3 meager comments.
All that said, here's our inaugural question:
Would we use the A-bomb if Japan had attacked us in 2001 instead of 1941?
Do me proud.
