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List:       freenet-chat
Subject:    Re: [Freenet-chat] Warfare (way OT)
From:       James Ashley <jimrthy () yahoo ! com>
Date:       2000-08-31 22:21:34
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From: "Marcel Popescu" <marcel@aiurea.com>

> From: "James Ashley" <jimrthy@yahoo.com>

>> Why would army actions raise more concern than
overt
>> actions by our Secret Police?  Sure, the militias 
>> will raise a fuss, but everyone else will just flip

>> the channel on the news and not think twice about 
>> it. Same way it's been happening for decades.

> Right now, I think army actions *would* raise 
> concerns; 

Which, if it came to using the army, wouldn't really
matter.

> however, the gov't might stage a few "terrorist 
> attacks" (like Oklahoma) and every John Doe will be 
> more than happy to have the army somewhere around 
> him, to protect him from the evil terrorists. So 
> maybe I'm too optimist...

Yup.

>> Guerilla warfare is effective, but it helps a lot 
>> if the people with whom you're fighting are 
>> distracted by outside war so they can't bring down 
>> their full might.

> 8,000 

So not even really a measurable fraction of Hitler's
army.

> with guns (including tanks!) divided by under 
> a hundred, less than half armed ("armed" meaning 
> even a gun with three bullets); not to mention that 
> the German army had huge resources, while the Jews 
> were practically starving - and with hardly any 
> contact with the outside world. I'd say the 
> situation was pretty much in the Germans' favor...

I think you said they held out for a month before
Germany got tired of fiddling with them and squashed
them like bugs.  Germany was distracted elsewhere.

> I love to discuss the real world; 

That's a nice change.  :-)  Last time I recommended we
do that, you said you didn't like to do that, because
"real life sucks."  At least, I believe that's your
quote.

> "what-if" is a very good method to deal with the 
> real world - it helps to imagine what will happen if

> you shoot yourself in the foot without actually 
> doing it.

I suppose someone who's spent a lot of time dealing
with shot feet might be able to do this.  I certainly
couldn't even get close.

> I come from a country where people are extremely 
> happy to be slaves. If the Americans have decayed to

> the same status, then the gov't doesn't even need to

> deploy it's army - "bread and circus", plus a few
> Waco-style interventions, will do. 

That is pretty much what's being done, yes.

>> Besides, your argument speaks of a lack of 
>> familiarity with the tactics used to win the first 
>> American Civil War.

> From what I've read, the regular army was less 
> effective than the militia.

I don't remember much about the strategies, or the
distinctions like this.  I'm thinking of things like
General Sherman basically burning Georgia to the
ground.  Forest guerilla tactics don't work all that
well if the forest is a raging inferno.  Not to
mention your guilt about keeping up the fight when
surrendering would save all the lives of those
innocent people who didn't want to be involved.

>> Even if some other race were to replace humans
>> eventually, I wouldn't be so certain about those
>> rediscoveries.  Well, principles, probably.  But
not
>> necessarily the details.  We still lack the 
>> technology to accurately build the pyramids, for 
>> example.

> I'm not talking about a different race (there's no 
> such thing AFAIK). I'm saying that if all the anti-
> gov't guys are killed, and the world will face
> socialism 

Or something much worse. Whatever.

> for the next hundred years, 

Or so.

> at one point some people 
> will start to wonder about personal freedom, rights,

> and so on.

If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to avoid
another period of Dark Ages.  Well, maybe this time we
could get the witches to burn the Christians.  That'd
be kind of amusing. <G>

> Mark




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