Occupation Theory

Wesley Clark is so right, and so wrong, in the same article. I should not do this, but will pick on the Wrongs, rather than the serious attainment of Right in his article. The first horror of his article is the Statement that Superpower military forces need a Nation-Building capacity. Any Government can be destabilized, especially in the face of enemy determination, and permanency cannot be granted to any Occupation Government. The most Anyone can hope for is that the Quisling Government works efficiently until all Occupational forces are extracted from the Country. Americans need to concentrate less on making a better World, and focus on effective punishment of Transgressions against Us. I have advocated that no U.S. military intervention last longer than 90 Days, whether Mission Goals have been accomplished or not; further extension of Occupation duties will generate both an Enemy insurgent movement and American Casualties.

Clark’s second mistake is estimating that Generals need to be better educated. I would say that they are overeducated at Present, while both junior Officers and NCO cadres lack serious Training and Educational needs. Generals tend to over-think their military capacities with advanced Education; a Man waving a gun probably makes the worst possible Example of Democracy. One cannot alter Cultural values with a helicopter gunship. Junior ranks, on the other hand, must exercise a virtual domination of exactly those behavioral mechanisms which produce atrocities if let loose. The Crisis of American Military Training expresses itself in overemphasis of Assault tactics, with basically little Training in Occupational duties. We do not need effective Teams to attack Main Force enemies, but have overwhelming need for Military Police.

Wesley Clark has advocated an increase in Military Force of 100,000, We actually need a million man Reserve. Trained as they currently are inoculated, though, it might be better not to increase the Main Force at all; starvation of military assets does defeat the grandiose desires of an uninspired leadership. I sincerely wish that Command and Staff College had an extended Course in Occupation Theory, and that perforce, even Presidents be entailed to attend. A sensible Beginners’ Hint: Military Occupation Forces must interdict Insurgent Arms at the Border, leaving Native forces to actually police private citizens in the manner traditional to the Country; recognizing that any extended interaction of private citizenry and Occupation forces will lead to natural development of Insurgency.

The prime element which American leadership must realize comes in the form that American military force cannot resolve any Problems in the World, only suppress any violent impulses generated by those Problems. Islamic Fundamentalism must be defeated by the Islamic world, by loss of support by Muslims; such a Process is not helped by giving the Fundamentalists an exterior Enemy for native populations to hate. We, as a military Power, must protect Ourselves from Extremists everywhere. The best avenue lies not with Main Force elements stationed on Islamic soil, but in subscription of Native elements and their anger at Fundamentalist behavior. lgl