“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” Sir Winston Churchill (1874 to 1965) Conservative Prime Minister twice: from 1940 to 1945 (before being defeated in the 1945 general election by the Labour leader Clement Attlee) and from 1951 to 1955. A soldier (joined the Royal Cavalry in 1895)… Read More
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” Sir Winston Churchill (1874 to 1965) Conservative Prime Minister twice: from 1940 to 1945 (before being defeated in the 1945 general election by the Labour leader Clement Attlee) and from 1951 to 1955. A soldier (joined the Royal Cavalry in 1895) and part-time journalist… Read More
“Fools say they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience.” Bismark (1815-1898) Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg known as Otto von Bismarck was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890 and was the first Chancellor of the German Empire between… Read More
“Research finds a strong historical link between poor crop yields and violence.” (The Economist, 2017, p.57). Last year over 102,000 people died in nearly 50 armed conflicts across the world, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), a think-tank. Much of this violence is caused by tensions between ethnic groups – two-thirds of civil wars have… Read More
Article Title Political/Military Autism. Extract “’History teaches us that we learn nothing from history.’ Hegel Foreign policy is often a little like ice fishing. If you pick the wrong companions, the wrong spot, or the wrong time of year, the results can be catastrophic. When the ice gives way, fish in the creel become irrelevant. Unlike… Read More
“Weapons are ominous tools to be used only when there is no alternative.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War “In ”Behind China’s Threats” (front page, March 7), you note that China’s military options for attacking Taiwan ”remain limited and impractical.’ There are other means to victory, as taught by the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun… Read More
“Organizations created to fight the last war better are not going to win the next.” Lieutenant General James Maurice Gavin (1907-1990), …”a top Army administrator, a diplomat and a leading management consultant…” (Fowler, 1990) Sometimes presented as “Generals always fight the last war.” Of course, this does not take account of the fact that sometimes… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 