In this war of civilisations, the West will prevail

The Times (U.K.) ^ | 10/08/2001 | John Keegan

[eclectic]

BUMP. Some people do get it

[walden]

Apparently Britain is less concerned with political correctness than the U.S.. We should look to them and learn.

[KellyAdmirer]

John Keegan is a brilliant military historian. A very good and thoughtful writer. Anyone interested in World War II should consider reading his works on it.

[general_re]

Interesting - I've read a great deal of Keegan's work before, and he is without a doubt the pre-eminent military historian of our times. The man knows whereof he speaks....

[VeritatisSplendor]

This war belongs within the much larger spectrum of a far older conflict between settled, creative productive Westerners and predatory, destructive Orientals. It is no good pretending that the peoples of the desert and the empty spaces exist on the same level of civilisation as those who farm and manufacture. They do not.

Wow! As un-PC as it is possible to be! Great post.

[rangerjack173]

Great piece by one of the few remaining world class Military historians. His insight is stark but clear. BTW Pokey thank you for posting Peggy Noonan's latest on "Courge Under fire" the other night. It was wonderful. I cried ... my wife cried then went out and dropped copies off at our local station house. ~S~

[Cicero]

Keegan's "History of Warfare" is a must read. Other cultures hit and run and count coups, but Western warfare, once it starts, is implacable.

This is the first real war we've been involved in since Bush senior was in office, and that one was so well handled it turned into a turkey shoot. Clinton, a bully by nature, lacked the will to settle down and fight. He was capricious and cowardly and lacked the credibility to inspire the troops.

Now for something completely different.

[Bahbah]

He was capicious and cowardly. I wish those were the worst things that could be said about him. Appreciate you beginning the list however.

[horse_doc]

I was a huge Keegan fan until Kosovo, where he bought the lie of a "destroyed Serbian military", hook, line, and sinker. He believed the NATO briefings, and has never adequately explained why the Serbian army was intact after the bombing. He just was flat-out wrong in his analysis.

This essay, however, has won back some of my respect for the man.

[NewLand]

When asked to comment on Osama bin Laden's statement, Jesus said:

EITHER YOU ARE WITH ME, OR AGAINST ME

No matter what spin, what happens, how long it takes, in the end, this is what it is all about.

This may be hard for some to swallow right now, but eventually the truth must be faced.

[eclectic]

PC environment made the Sept 11 atrocity possible.

[x]

We will win. We must win. But will it be the West that triumphs or the technological civilization that has replaced it?

[ccmay]

Sir John rocks!

His book The Second World War is the best I have ever read on the subject, outside of Churchill's memoirs.

-ccm

[ChinaThreat]

Sir Keegan gets it. These dirty savages are about to be put back in their place. Death to our Enemies! Keep Rolling! Remember the Towers!

[vrwc54]

This article was in the Telegraph UK, not the Times. Either way, it was very interesting to me.

[TKEman]

It is no good pretending that the peoples of the desert and the empty spaces exist on the same level of civilisation as those who farm and manufacture. They do not.

I used to not believe this. I used to believe that the differences were simply a matter of traditional culture and development. Now I believe it's something deeper than that. I think their religion has something wrong with it. Looks to me that the religion of Islam tends to promote fanatics.

[Polybius]

Wow! As un-PC as it is possible to be! Great post.

How about this for un-P.C. This is the patron saint of Galicia, Spain, the land of my ancestors before their move to the New World.

Santiago Matamoro (Saint James the Moor-Killer)

The Muslim Moors conquered all of Spain in 711 A.D. except for the Northwest provinces of Galicia and Asturias. The Reconquista (Reconquest) lasted 781 years until 1492 but, as Keegan notes, perserverance is the Western way of war.

[FReethesheeples]

Fascinating.