Small Wars Journal

It's the Tribes, Stupid

  1. Blog
Sun, 06/28/2009 - 2:42am
Hat tip to Zenpundit Mark Safranski for the lead on Steven Pressfield's blog It's the Tribes, Stupid. Added to our blogroll...

This five-part series is about war in Afghanistan, ancient and modern. I'm not doing this for money or politics. I'm a Marine and I don't want young Marines and soldiers going into harm's way without the full arsenal of history and context.

What's my thesis? That the key to understanding Afghanistan today is not Islamism or jihadism. It's tribalism. The tribal mind-set (warrior pride, hostility to outsiders, codes of honor and resistance to change) permeates everything. Think of these videos as a mini-course in tribalism. I invite discussion. Tell me I'm crazy, tell me I'm wrong. If you agree, tell me too.

Visit It's the Tribes, Stupid.

Comments

Steve Blair

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 11:43am

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It's a shame Registan didn't check the message board discussion about Pressfield's work. He might have found some of the critical discussion he seems to be looking for.