tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29099853.post8252756259975295295..comments2023-10-26T22:53:59.503+08:00Comments on The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato: J. Michael Cole 寇謐將http://www.blogger.com/profile/12125612369359079447noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29099853.post-85334070693002632672008-04-28T18:41:00.000+08:002008-04-28T18:41:00.000+08:00If there is anyone who has profoundly affected my ...If there is anyone who has profoundly affected my view of the war on terror, it is Mr. Scheuer. As you note, he displays a consummate understanding of the situation.<BR/><BR/>However, even from his first books, he was hard to take seriously when it came to his antidotes for an ill-executed war. In this case, Scheuer's bloodlust is certainly not new. There's a quote from Imperial Hubris that has always stuck with me. It's from the last Chapter, entitled "The Way Ahead: A Few Suggestions for Debate" under the heading "Get Used to and Good at Killing" (p. 241 in my copy):<BR/><BR/>"To secure as much of our way of life as possible, we will have to use military force in the way Americans used it on the fields of Virginia and Georgia, in France and on Pacific islands, and from skies over Tokyo and Dresden. Progress will be measured by the pace of killing, and, yes, by body counts. Not the fatuous body counts of Vietnam, but precise counts that will run extremely large numbers. The piles of dead will include as many or more civilians as combatants because our enemies wear no uniforms."<BR/><BR/>In another place, if I recall correctly, he says we <I>either</I> have to fight as described above or completely withdraw from the region. I read this while studying philosophy in Paris, so I had been reading a lot of Leo Strauss. I remember asking myself if the two choices Scheuer gave were an indirect way of saying that we have no choice but to leave. Now, though, it seems that he really believes that this is the best way forward, which is surprising for someone who knows so much about the situation.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17810211372214301382noreply@blogger.com