SWJ SNQ # 7
Here’s the seventh edition of Small Wars Journal’s Saturday Night Quote (SWJ SNQ). Kudos to Robert C. Jones. In the commentary section of SWJ Blog entry “Afghanistan: It’s Not Over” COL Jones had this to say:
“Those who dwell on ideology, those who dwell on sanctuary, and those who dwell on the thousands of perspectives as to how best engage the lower tier of the [Afghanistan] insurgency (from the “kill them” to the “develop them” to the “secure them” to the “govern them” and all shades in between) are all tilting at windmills in large degree. No amount of energy directed at the bottom can do more than suppress the insurgency for some small period of time. True victory, true stability, comes when the top tier issues are resolved. Focus there.”
Insight go on! Another good way to wake up to my Sunday morning (time differences…) with the SWJ pick of the bunch.
One point though, these quotes are uniformly excellent and deserve more exposure than being hidden away under the SNQ title. I’d recommend having a prominent part of the main page dedicated to the SNQ that stays for a week – underneath the 1940 Small Wars Manual quote, perhaps? Just an idea and I’m unsure of the workload this would impose on the SWJ folk.
Good work, though – both Col Jones and the SWJ staff and moderators for your efforts. It is, as always, greatly appreciated.
Good sugestion by Chris. I’d take it a step further that a SNQ link include all previous weekly quotes.
Chris/Vito,
Thanks for the feedback. We’re currently working to revamp several aspects of the site and Journal. I’ll capture your thoughts and pass them along to Dave and Bill while we conduct our review.
-Mike