[extropy-chat] Re: The Hidden Luddite was Re: peak oil debate

[David Lubkin]

Damien Sullivan wrote:

>This contradicts a lot of what I've heard about the US military, where smart
>soldiers are allegedly an asset and have been for a long time.  Not just not
>obeying illegal orders, but being innovative in the field.  One of the SF
>newsgroups was talking about WWII recently, and a claim came up that the
>Germans were rather more dependent on a particular line of command, and the
>Americans better at regrouping, finding a new line, and going back into
>battle.

It's certainly traditionally been true in Zahal. The Israeli 
presumption is that battles are fluid, and the commander in the field 
may have a better read on the situation than his superior officers. 
He may disobey his orders, but he'd better be right.

This was Arik Sharon's trademark in his military career, similar to 
Patton but even more successful. He would tremendously exceed orders. 
Occasionally get smacked for it, but always called back again.

As an admirer of his military genius, it's been interesting for me to 
watch his political career.

It's not surprising to see how well he and Bush reportedly get along. 
They both like to take big risks. Neither are caretakers. They push 
the envelope.


-- David Lubkin.