Once the enemy’s tanks are rolling, the war will be decided in a matter of days or weeks—no time to go about changing the cultural attitudes of an entire population!
Contemporary war happens in two phases. The first phase involves tanks and planes and lasts days or weeks. The second phase involves putting boots on the ground and asserting the victor’s will over the victim. As you may imagine, the second phase involves a lot of human rights abuses.
America is great at the first phase, but is generally unwilling to admit that the second phase actually exists. Therefore, American wars tend to involve quick kinetic victories that degenerate into insurgencies and civil wars almost immediately. Think Iraq or Afghanistan.
Successful second-phase war looks like what China is doing in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. Constant direct subjugation of the losing population, lots of propaganda, and creating an environment where any hint of resistance is directly confronted and destroyed. Eventually the population just gives up and stops resisting. The process seems to be essentially complete in Tibet, well in progress in Xinjiang, and just beginning in Hong Kong.
War is hell, but there are different circles in hell.
Once the enemy’s tanks are rolling, the war will be decided in a matter of days or weeks—no time to go about changing the cultural attitudes of an entire population!
Contemporary war happens in two phases. The first phase involves tanks and planes and lasts days or weeks. The second phase involves putting boots on the ground and asserting the victor’s will over the victim. As you may imagine, the second phase involves a lot of human rights abuses.
America is great at the first phase, but is generally unwilling to admit that the second phase actually exists. Therefore, American wars tend to involve quick kinetic victories that degenerate into insurgencies and civil wars almost immediately. Think Iraq or Afghanistan.
Successful second-phase war looks like what China is doing in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. Constant direct subjugation of the losing population, lots of propaganda, and creating an environment where any hint of resistance is directly confronted and destroyed. Eventually the population just gives up and stops resisting. The process seems to be essentially complete in Tibet, well in progress in Xinjiang, and just beginning in Hong Kong.
War is hell, but there are different circles in hell.