I dont know if anybody here likes to study military theory or has ever heard of John Boyd(he is the most important military theorist since Sun Tzu),but his ideas are some of the most powerful ideas ive ever heard. And i believe that if they were applied to this war on terror in the correct manner it would be devastating to our islamist enemy. But the problem is that many if his ideas have been “infected” with contemporary bad philosophy and ideas(pragmatism for example),but what hasnt been infected by that though?
For example it has lead some military theorists to consider mutually agreed chivalric codes with islamist!!! becuase war is fought at three levels, the physical, the mental, and the moral level, which is the most POWERFUL level so the weak are perceived to have the moral high ground, for example in the “The Power Of Weakness” :
"Martin van Creveld who wrote ‘The Transformation of War’ the definitive book on 4th generation war says:-- --“In private life, an adult who keeps beating down on a five-year old – even such a one as originally attacked him with a knife – will be perceived as committing a crime; therefore, he will lose the support of bystanders and end up being arrested, tried and convicted. In international life, an armed force that keeps beating down on a weaker opponent will be seen as committing a series of crimes; therefore it will end up losing the support of its allies, its own people and its troops. Depending on the quality of the forces … things may happen quickly or take a long time to mature. However, the outcome is always the same. He (or she) who does not understand this does not understand anything about war; or, indeed, human nature.”–
He concludes that its “Human Nature” to feel sorry for the week.
And this is by William Lind who is a conservative(pragmatist) defense policy analyst and who wrote Maneuver Warfare Handbook says:
“In other words, he who fights against the weak – and the rag-tag Iraqi militias are very weak indeed – and loses, loses. He who fights against the weak and wins also loses. To kill an opponent who is much weaker than yourself is unnecessary and therefore cruel; to let that opponent kill you is unnecessary and therefore foolish. As Vietnam and countless other cases prove, no armed force, however rich, however powerful, however advanced, however well motivated is immune to this dilemma. The end result is always disintegration and defeat …. That is why the present adventure will almost certainly end as the previous one (Vietnam) did. Namely, with the last U.S. troops fleeing the country while hanging on to their helicopters’ skids.” --Lind continues and asks this questions, "More fundamentally, the question of how a strong state such as the United States can fight the physically weak (but often morally powerful) non-state enemies it now faces is a central problem in Fourth Generation theory. "
"the question of how a strong state such as the United States can fight the physically weak (but often morally powerful) non-state enemies it now faces is a central problem in Fourth Generation theory.
Unless we can come up with an answer (mutually agreed chivalric codes may be the beginning of an answer, where those are possible), the 21st century may see the weak triumph over the strong."
> [http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews....tch%202004%2edb](http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?command=viewone&id=176&database=DefenseWatch%202004%2edb)
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> And here is another quote that speaks for itself:
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> [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0963869531/ref=pd_sim_books_1/002-7583949-8996865?v=glance&s=books)
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> Now, i hear many Objectivist like leonard peikoff say that we should attack the islamist but he leaves HOW we attack the islamists to the military as if military intellectuals havent been infected by bad ideas, so are there any Objectivist military theorist out there?
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> Here as some quotes from John Boyd:
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> Eastern philosophy has had a great influence on military theories with Sun Tzu and Mussashi, so Im wondering, what contribution can Ayn Rands ideas have on how we fight our wars? Especially in this time that we our in a war for our survival.
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> If you want to know everything about Boyd and his ideas this is the best place to start:
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> [The ESSENTIAL BOYD](http://www.belisarius.com/modern_business_strategy/hammond/essential_boyd.htm)
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> [http://www.defense-and-society.org/fcs/cowan\_proceedings.htm](http://www.defense-and-society.org/fcs/cowan_proceedings.htm)
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> [http://www.d-n-i.net/second\_level/boyd\_military.htm](http://www.d-n-i.net/second_level/boyd_military.htm)