Regis Debray wrote the book on little wars. This is NOT a little war. When disorganized (read undisciplined troops) engage disciplined troops, even at or near equal strengths, the disciplined troops win. We tend to think that 'will' matters. It indeed does, but only when that will is supported by arms. Tanks vs men: who wins? Many who post here likely remember 1956 or 1989 when that was demonstrated and shown beyond doubt.

The UN mandate has laid out the rules of this engagement. The rebels are ill-disciplined troops. The government troops are poor as troops, but they have practiced (I prefer practised as the verb). The reason Castro's--and yes, 'Che's'--people won was due to the inability of the Batista government to keep it's troops in line. Soldiers will die in those kinds of fights if the ideology is entrenched. AND they will make their defeaters wish they'd never got into it in the first place.

The French at Dien Bien Phu fought valiantly. An acquaintance of mine was in the FFL, and he knew and knows the requirements of being in a 'unit' like that. Part of the deal is that you volunteer and then train and then do the job. Period. If you ain't game for that--and it always seems like a good idea at the time--then don't join, and 'Don't cry for me Argentina'.

Problem here is that the troops are big on rhetoric and short on munitions, discipline, training and 'end game philosophy'. When men--and now women (a philosophy with which I disagree), although I think women should also have the right to 'die for their country'--and although I agree with Patton that it's my responsibility to make some other bastard die for his country--unless there is a unified command, there is NO command.

The rebels may die in a 'last stand' (and that will be an example of a superior force being met by resolve and study by Tonka Wakon (Crazy Horse in my world): they will not do so because of lack of resolve; they will do so because of a lack of arms. And we will say later that there was nothing we could do.

Frank, a man whose philosophy I admire has three times refused to tell me what WE should do when in the process of non-violently protesting an egregious wrong the people against whom we protest hit us. Well, I suppose we are supposed to get hit. Not me, and not anymore. Been there, done it, and fuck that.

Think as you wish, but please understand we are not cohesive in these terms. We did this before in Hungary and Czechslovakia. We were wrong then, and we would be equally wrong now.

imo

Those wishing to castigate me for this view may do so, but two people are the only ones I will answer: Teribus and Little Hawk..

No offense to anyone else.

BM