[Ailist] Changing Military Perspective

[John Loty]

Yes what Lionel says is, in my view, absolutely correct.

It is the decision makers and that (in a democracy) includes all of us not
just "them" - that need to re-think and change.

If you train soldiers to be business men then they are going to be focused
on not taking risks - the very opposite of what it takes to win a war.

I have been a Peace lover since childhood (was in the band and then signals
even in the compulsory school cadets)and like most people on this list
absolutely abhor the violence, destruction and sheer waste  of war but I am
not the kind of pacifist that can stand by and allow someone to violate my
(and my family/country) space and rights. 
I am a supporter of the move in America to set up a Department of Peace
(initiated by what was the GRA Global Renaissance Alliance now the Peace
Alliance)  

And if (as happened during the Vietnam war) someone acts to harm my
country's soldiers I will resist and certainly not support such action.
Certain people here in Australia tried to stop a supply ship (supporting our
troops overseas with food etc) and I opposed that - as much as I was against
the war.

Yes we must be compassionate and yes we must avoid war (as it basically and
usually the result of the inappropriate stupid problem solving approach we
have come to recognise as flawed in our AI practice)but we must not lose our
senses and intellectual ability to discriminate (tell the difference or make
the distinction)between hard truths of life - what is achievable and
appropriate in all the relevant circumstances.

It is illegal or wrongful to discriminate based on irrelevant factors such
as race, gender, and all of that but it is the peak of human achievement to
discriminate wisely and be able to be appropriate in our behaviour in all
the great variety of circumstances that life presents.

There are plenty of examples of people being able to resolve difficulties
without resorting to violence and that clearly needs to be a priority in our
dealings on the international stage as well but that is a completely
different to sending our soldiers in to fight/kill the "enemy" and then
saying "we didn't really mean it".

Our thinking (or lack of it) is the enemy that we need to educate.

Our wooly thinking leads us to nonsense in ordinary commercial dialogue(and
even some sporting examples)of saying such things as "killing" the
opposition and planning our "tactics" with "bullet" points. We have made the
meaning of the word "competition" - warlike - when its origins (in Latin, as
I understand it)in the athletic context was to "strive together to achieve
excellence".

Statistics can also deceive. If you count the people who have casual and/or
part-time employment as "employed" then the unemployment figures look a lot
better and the fact that a lot of the casually employed are not earning
enough to make way is swept under the statistical carpet.

So by all means let's find a way to Peace but that is our (and our
representative's) job not the soldier's.

PS I've deleted the other messages in the former reply as I realised it was
a bit long :)
John Loty
 
AI Advocate and Facilitator 
 
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-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Lionel Boxer
Sent: Wednesday, 24 June 2009 5:59 AM
To: crightmer116995mi at comcast.net; cheri.torres at gmail.com
Cc: ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: Re: [Ailist] Changing Military Perspective

When you read my post please keep in mind that the mission of the infantry
is to seek out and destoy the enemy.

Soldiers are soldiers and they have a job to do.  If you change soldiers you
may change the operational effectiveness and their capability to do their
job.  With that in mind and in consideration of the thread of this
discussion, my belief is that it would be more appropriate to change
politicians and businessmen so that we can stop war.

If war happens we need soldiers to be able to do their job and not be
confused by a set of rules crafted from the peace of a warless centre of
thought.

Special Forces tend to be capable of "work with the local townspeople and
help them" - this is because they are selected from the best of the army.
The regular army has a much broader range of capability and includes many
people - even in the highest level of command (which can be populated by the
politically astute, overly ambitious, and intellectually limited) - who are
not capable of thinking in these terms.  Hence, it is best to keep the
military out of conflict unless absolutely necessary.

Remember, the mission of the infantry is to seek out and destoy the enemy.

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
Associate of RMIT University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au
Graduate School of Business