News, intel, and stories from the past

I don’t know who should be frustrated more? Is it we common USA citizens wanting to know it all, and in real time; or is it the decision makers wanting to also know it all, in real time, and having to accept what they get as they make a decision?

My vote is for the decision makers… If only to protect their sources from enemy knowledge, and maybe even to protect their sources lives.

For us citizens, in my humble opinion, what we learn from our main stream media is pitiful for those wanting to be arm chair operational and strategic leaders. Our opinions are well thought out, but missing essential elements of information.

For decision makers, in my humble opinion, what they learn from intel may be tainted by the system. In my own military life, I remember being taught that the Russians were ten feet tall as they would come through the Fulda Gap (Napoleon used the same Gap, although he went the other way into Russia). I was shocked learning all this from the Army since no other sources made the Russians ten feet tall. As a Marine, I was encouraged to read, and one book by Andrew Cockburn said just the opposite. He interviewed former Soviet soldiers who basically said they were our height, or smaller. This got my attention as to news and intel.

Then I piled on my reading with James Dunigan, Sergey Gorshksov, and even Tom Clancy.

Maybe this was when I tipped towards be a recalcitrant about intel and news.

Later I enjoyed the beauty of reading H.G. Wells “Outline of History” (1928 version) and the USMC “Small Wars Manual” (1940 version, the only version), and many National Geographic magazine articles in the Breckenridge Library at Quantico. All were suggested by a mentor, by the way.

I accept that there is much going on in our countries defense by arms of our government that cannot be reported for security reasons. We should be proud to think this is going on.
And our enemies on the receiving end also know it is going on since they have been impacted, killed, etc. They have the message. We are often influencing the other side without we USA citizens even knowing. I wish we could know in a timely manner. Some of it is like protecting American kids taking a school bus in Turkey eons ago, and some is like killing the Hezbellah people who hung Col. Rich Higgins in the late 1980’s. All the preceding is open source, by the way.

Now for today.

My news filters are such that I don’t believe anything I read, especially from any press.

So how do I try to be informed. Bottom line, I can’t be.

The fall back is to use blogs, but they suffer from the same frustration most of us common citizens have.

For us citizens, in my humble opinion, what we do learn does help us better understand our enemy. Knowing the other sides values, thought process, and methods is a big advantage to us western types. And right now they are giving it to us for free.