Attention, congressional staff members on both sides of the aisle: Please have your bosses read this Dean Barnett Sunni-Shia Cheat Sheet over the holidays in order to avoid another Jeff Stein gotcha moment. While you’re at it, The Truth About……

Here is a snip:

“To set course for one possible response, the President addresses the American people, and identifies the enemy nations involved. He asks for, and receives, a formal declaration of war from Congress. He pledges to achieve victory as quickly as possible, a goal which he defines as the unconditional surrender of the enemy regimes, and a fundamental repudiation of war by those involved”

“Americans mount a vigorous offense against the center of the enemy’s power. Waves of bombers obliterate dozens of enemy cities. His food is choked off, his military is decimated, his industry is bombarded, his ships are sunk, his harbors are mined—his people are psychologically shattered. In a single night, a hundred thousand civilians die in a firestorm in his capital. Americans drop leaflets telling the enemy population which cities could be next”

“One of our generals announces his personal goal: to “kill the bastards.” We name our final drive against the enemy, “Operation Downfall.” A force of overpowering magnitude amasses on the enemy’s borders, as thousands of American bombers pulverize his cities.”

The President and two foreign allies issue an ultimatum that includes these words:
The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the enemy armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the enemy homeland. . . .
The time has come for the enemy nation to decide whether she will continue to be controlled by those self-willed militaristic advisers whose unintelligent calculations have brought them to the threshold of annihilation, or whether she will follow the path of reason. . . .
Following are our terms. We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives. We shall brook no delay. . . .

Too slow Dread Pirate Roberts, too slow. AND I linked to Wiki. pwned BohicaTwentyTwo on December 7, 2006 at 1:44 PM

Well I see your link and raise you one better:

http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/VomKriege2/ONWARTOC2.HTML

There will be a test on the first two books on Monday!

Amateurs who want to sound smart quote Sun Tzu. Professional soldiers read Clausewitz. — BohicaTwentyTwo

…too true…but the chinaman is quoteable, isn’t he?

More reading would be Mein Kampf, as a reminder that dictators and madmen do give advance notice about their intentions… — Emmett J.

…impossible book to read, excellent idea about it, though…back it up with a read of Brigitte Hamann’s Hitler’s Vienna as a way of understanding the thick and nearly impossible prose of Herr Schicklgruber. Very enlightening book, Ms. Hamann’s.

The Prince by the largly misunderstood Machiavelli is essential reading for any leader in my opinion. — thirteen28

…bingo! Give that man a pat on the back and a stinky Dan’l Webster….

The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman…The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon (Gibson??) — honora

…Tuchman’s always worth a read…although you may mean it to be a primer for the study of hubris…and, it *IS* Gibbon. Edward Gibbon (April 27, 1737 – January 16, 1794).

Right here, I’d add:

Band of Brothers by Steve Ambrose, just to remind yourself what soldiers are like

Goodbye, Darkness by William Manchester to get into the soldier’s head (or, in Manchester’s case, Marine’s head)

as well as another of his great books, A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind & the Renaissance, to bone up on the 14th Century, in case the jihadis win….

A Bridge Too Far by Corny Ryan, as a primer on how and what happens when an operation goes wrong, its impact on soldiers and strategy, etc.

And The Screwtape Letters. You could make it a political thriller by replacing the “Screwtape” with Howard Dean and “Wormwood” with Nancy Pelosi. — cmay

…delicious, well recommended and aptly cast.

Some folks have recommended the Koran/Qu’ran, which I’d recommend only be read in daylight. It’s too scary at night.

I’d also recommend True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo to give him a primer on successfully overcoming a bloodthirst enemy.

Beowulf would be useful.

…and, finally, Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander because it’s a great, personal and fun read, and because it gives one the idea of how a staff should and should not interact, and what losing a war looks like on a day-to-day basis.

…he could throw in the Bible, but he probably reads it like a modern evangelical, which would do him no good at all.

Quite Righteous.

- David Horowitz

The perfect reading for today’s environment would be “The 24/day TV-displayed Compassionate Way to Win/Lose a War” or “How to Win/Win a War”, by THeDRiFTeR, for example.

Someone give this guy a prize.

Dinsdale Piranha on December 7, 2006 at 1:46 PM

Er, pullingmyhairout is a fine lady, who posted a mighty fine comment for all to be reminded of and internalize.

The problem is that the various intel briefings to the President provided by NSC, DoS/BIR, and CIA all come from institutions dominated by the Scowcroft/Baker “realist” POV and are probably skewed in that direction.

Now that Gates is in charge at DOD it’s likely that he’ll step up the purge (or is pogrom a more fitting word?)at Office of Special Plans and DIA to insure that their briefings fall into line with the above (you didn’t think they hired former CIA Director and career CIA analyst Gates for his extensive knowledge of military affairs, did you?).

I recommend that the President skip the daily brief from the Intel/Foreign Policy community and surf the web instead. HA and PJM would be good places to start.

Concerning books, if the President is pressed for time he could read LOTR up to the death of Boromir. A brave warrior and leader from a besieged superpower self-destructs after he convinces himself that he needs an evil force on his side for civilization so prevail.

Sounds familiar.

Ring of Peace.

He might also give The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam a lood as well. Perhps it might disuade him from the “Islam is a religion of peace” nonsense he seems to be stuck on.

My view is that Islam is not a religion, but a 7th century political movement masquerading as one.

And a most Merry Christmas to you as well.

honora on December 7, 2006 at 3:02 PM

Lol, “Happy Holidays”. (So sorry Ramadan is over)

And Romeo13, I wouldn’t recommend a lawyer, I just think the spotlight needs to be shown on these teachers so they know that their indoctrination won’t be tolerated. Like O’R’s war on child sex predators, Judge’s know they better be careful or their going to have a Fox News camera in their face. Same needs to be done for the deranged left professors and teachers. It’s like a daily occurance that one does something stupid. Is rolling your eyes disrespectful? Sure, but if the problem is as you explained it, then I think it’s warranted… and certainly not worth getting suspended for.

And while he’s reading C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia

…if I’m not wrong it’s Lewis who famously stated: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do”. Shoot, Dubya should have that embroidered on a pillow.

“Mere Christianity” by CS Lewis.

It’s amazing how the book nails the PC agenda and how it erodes our will to live and was published long ago.

NTWR

And while he’s reading C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia so he can be reminded that war is regrettable and sometimes necessary; but can show the nobility of kings and warriors when they fight well and to win. Maybe someone can point out to him the similarities between the Calormenes and Muslims.

And The Screwtape Letters. You could make it a political thriller by replacing the “Screwtape” with Howard Dean and “Wormwood” with Nancy Pelosi.

When asked why I always picked the old Testiment to quote from, I answered honestly. “That is the God of the Army, the God that smites thine enemy, and gives us victory over the wicked, the evil on earth.”

It’s a shame that the more enlightened than thou in Washington don’t have that kind of faith in the war against terror. We must win, because the price of failure is too intolerably high.

My suggestions:

Book of Five Rings – Miyamoto Musashi
The Prince – Machiavelli
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do – Bruce Lee

Definitely Art of War!

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

…

If I had known you were the only one to laugh honora, I wouldn’t have posted that.

RightWinged on December 7, 2006 at 2:22 PM

And a most Merry Christmas to you as well.

I’ll quietly work through the system until I get satisfaction…

Fact is, my daughter did show disrespect during the “confrontation” (which she tried to walk away from, but how do you walk away from a Teacher?).

Its that fine line between speaking the truth (when asked) and showing disrespect.

Good chance this is already being downgraded to “detention” after speaking to the Teacher, and the School Counselor.