Friday, April 06, 2007

The enemy were becoming deliberately aggressive, the rotters   [Mark Steyn]

Derb, I agree that this incident was a pitiful humiliation for the Royal Navy and also for Britain. It also seems clear that this mission was poorly conceived from the start: If you can't outgun a couple of Iranian speed boats, you shouldn't be policing the shallows of the Shatt al-Arab in the first place.

However, the language you deplore - "Some of the Iranian sailors were becoming deliberately aggressive and unstable", "Throughout our ordeal we faced constant psychological pressure" - seems less a reflection on these men than yet more evidence of how therapeutic psychobabble has become the default mode of our culture - even unto the military. Indeed, insofar as you can use martial talk, it's only for the bloodless pseudo-battles of politics - Clinton's "War Room", etc. A year ago, I reviewed a book on this very topic:

From the bloody battles of history, strategies for winning the subtle social game of everyday life.

 So Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington can teach you strategies for beating Darlene in Accounts to the big promotion, but our fighting men talk like they're guesting on Oprah.  

04/06 01:58 PMShare