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October 2006
Elsewhere on the WebVictor Davis Hanson’s Private Papers Victor Davis Hanson Archive on National Review OnlineTour Books
A War Like No Other How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
by Victor Hanson
Amazon.com’s Best of 2001 Many theories have been offered regarding why Western culture has spread so successfully across the world, with arguments ranging from genetics to superior technology to the creation of enlightened economic, moral, and political systems. In Carnage and Culture, military historian Victor Hanson takes all of these factors into account in making a bold, and sure to be controversial, argument: Westerners are more effective killers.
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson, John Keegan Hanson, for those who somehow have missed him until now, is a professor of Classics at California State and also is a part time farmer, both of which have contributed to his writing as a military historian. As a classicist, Hanson is well versed in the sources in their original Greek, and as a farmer he understands how agriculture affected the experience of the Greeks at war.
by Victor Davis Hanson
by Victor Davis Hanson
Hanson relates the life stories of his farmer neighbors, writing that their way of life will likely soon disappear, thanks in part to a federal system of agricultural subsidies that favors large-scale, industrial farm corporations over individual “yeomen.” This is a sobering and eye-opening book. by Victor Davis Hanson On first glance, The Soul of Battle appears to be three different books: biographies of two well-known generals—Sherman and Patton—and one who is virtually unknown today, the ancient Greek leader Epaminondas. Yet Victor Davis Hanson, a classics professor and author of The Western Way of War, makes a compelling connection between these three men. They were “eccentrics, considered unbalanced or worse by their own superiors” who led democratic armies on missions of freedom.
by Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Victor Davis Hanson (Introduction)
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October 14, 2006 2:20 PM
"Honor"?
Here it is from the horses’ mouths: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, East Timor, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, the Philippines, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Spain (Andalusia). Also listed as casus belli by the terrorists are our shady election campaign finances and practices, and, of course, failure to sign the Kyoto accords, along with environmental desecration. And lest you think W. caused the fury, they also cite as causes of their grief the Queen of England, George Bush, Sr., and Bill Clinton. I’ve been reading the new The Al-Qaeda Reader forthcoming from Doubleday, a collection of writings and rantings from Osama bin Laden and Dr. Zawhri, and translated by Raymond Ibrahim. These whines are what the historian Thucydides called prophases, or “pretexts”—or what we should consider simply as fill-in-the-blanks lists for the larger problems of lost honor. Lost honor? (In this regard, read a brilliant recent essay by Jonathan Rauch in the National Journal Yes, how sad, in their view, that despite all those Muslims, all that oil, all that religious purity, still remains this enormous, this overriding sense of failure and impotence: No nuclear weapons, no Arab-designed internet, no Muslim cell phones or I-pods, no Hamas designed “Apaches and F-16s”. And for the all the brag about the “Hezbollah drone” it still looked pretty pathetic compared to a Predator. For us in the all-too-rational West, the response is simplistic: get all those furious Hamas militants who chew their Israeli cud for hours on end in the coffee houses of Gaza out at 5AM in the fields to rebuild green houses and begin re-exporting flowers and vegetables to Europe. Mobilize all those Hezbollah Katyusha-carriers to start, India-style, learning English to do outsourcing, or, Chinese-style, to begin putting together Mattel Toys, or, Irish-style, recalling all the PhDs from the Muslim world now at Texas A&M or Florida State to return to Beirut to create an Arabic-speaking dot.com antithesis. After all, there is a reason that the Chinese talk of Adidas and Forbes these days rather than the old “running-dog capitalists”. But, of course, that is quite impossible. It would require giving up, at least somewhat, the Jewish and American bogeymen, an end to memorizing the catchy Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky sound bites, and shedding of some of that “honor” by allowing your son to work where he wants, and your daughter to dress and marry as she likes, and your neighbor to put a cross around his neck if he pleases. Yet there is one, one small thing we can do to in the West to help out those in the Middle East: quit blaming ourselves and fantasizing what we might do to be liked. Leaving Iraq won’t solve the problem—no more than did saving the Kuwaitis, the Bosnians, the Kosovars, the Afghans from the Russians, or the Somali Muslims from hunger. Giving the Egyptians $50 billion or the Jordanians and Palestinians billions as well didn’t do much either. Indeed, Hamas now considers widening their war by attacking Americans for withholding our largess. You see, we have no right not to give Islamists our millions just because they won’t promise not to destroy our ally Israel. But what would help is simply this: every time a victimized talking head from the Middle East started in on Israel, Bush, Blair, etc. someone could interrupt and politely said, “Sorry, that’s old. No mas. We are tired of the whining. Go get a life.” Tough love like that eventually would be worth more to the Arab World than this year’s $500 billion in Middle East’s excess petro-profits alone. As long as foreign money is thrown at the Middle East, and Palestinians are allowed to drone about “honor” and “pride” without objection, rather than how, on their own, to craft an economy, there will never be peace, or happiness—or “honor.” Comments (19)Marc :Nick Guariglia :I completely agree, Dr. Give me their "cause celebre'" any day of the week. Are we to be pursuing policies with which the Wahhabis have no objection? WillyShake :Thanks for reminding all who will listen that the Islamists hate us for who we are, not our policies--because who we are is precisely the yardstick that measures their own cultural shortcomings. May I suggest that we add the enemy's so-called "Manchester Document", which I discuss and link to HERE) to the list of required reading? I quote it briefly: "Islam does not coincide or make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it. The confrontation that Islam calls for with these godless and apostate regimes, does not know Socratic debates, Platonic ideals, nor Aristotelian diplomacy. But it knows the dialogue of bullets, the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy of the canon and the machine-gun." With its call for a return to the ancient caliphate, it is indeed a "document in madness". If only anklebiters like Michael Scheuer who are so fond of blaming Israel and our foreign policy could be made to confront your shrewd argumentation--and sinewy, agrarian prose (which the blog format really showcases, I think). Lee W. Dodson :It's been said that if the Arabs did push every Israeli into the ocean, triumph in their jihad, settle onto the land, in less than five years, the Israeli homeland would look just like Gaza...a garbage dump. Exactly who do these people think they are? Refugees from the American War on Poverty perhaps? Astonishingly, the sense of entitlement that we Americans once owned lock, stock, and barrel has been appropriated by just about every ne'er-do-well on the planet, and it's just not fair. Lyndon Johnson lost that war, and it's ours. Just because we exported it in the form of foreign aid, doesn't mean we still don't own the patent rights in perpetuity. I say we start collecting on our royalties, and if they refuse to pay up, we sic the trial lawyers associations on 'em. Forget war crimes trials, go after the copyright infringement issues. Same goes for the illegals. The wall doesn't really scare 'em, but the threat of a civil suit that goes all the way to class action might. Papa Ray :Yes, we [all] should say that, but it's important that when we say that, we say it inbetween laughs, snickers and while shaking our heads in a condescending manner. Papa Ray david :The solution is complicated. 1. A cut-off of all aid to all nations that do not allow jews and christians to own land, businesses or to be in government. 2. An emergency Manhattan Project to develop and USE every KNOWN alternative energy from solar to bio-diesel. 3. A 1000% increase in all food, medicine & technology costs to any OIC (islamic nations nation that wishes to import them 4. an import tax on all products from any OIC member. 5. Funding for all Occupied Peoples whose lands are being held by Islam. This also means that if within the islamic world non-islamic peoples are not welcome they those peoples nationality are expelled back to their homelands. example: Currently Arabs are occupying the Berber regions of Northern Africa, we should fund weapons to the Berbers to throw off the yoke of Arab/islamic colonialism. just a start Jeffrey S Neher :
Nancy Reyes :You know, whenever I used to hear about all the unemployment in Gaza, I felt sorry for them. Sharpshooter :We hear so often how many are criminals because they have no economic opportunities. The truth is they have no economic opportunities because they ARE criminals. Savant :One man's honor is another man's shame. The obvious must be said: Bush ain't Pericles and "honor" in antiquity was a far greater force than today's politics. Cheers, Savant DaSarge :Well said. There is, however, a fly in the ointment. For success, this approach requires adults, i.e., serious, non-narcissitic people who think & act like adults. I am not optimistic about fining many of those in the diplomatic corps or academia. Dave :Nancy Reyes : "So they may dream about the "calphate" but if the "caliphate" takes over, it will be run by Catholic Philipinos and Indian Hindus..." Thanks for that...got a good laugh. I was in KSA for a year and experienced that first hand. In fact, I had the chance to meet the PI ambassador, and he told me that "As they are in 187 countries now, Filipinos are colonizing the world..." One of my buddies wanted to try to organize all the non-Saudis and have them go on strike. It would close the country down. The other Gulf states are no different... cf bleachers :In this essay and last (Koreana), coming in sequence as they have, it struck me that the issue is not so much honor(rare that I disagree with the good Dr), but something else entirely. I have puzzled over the near overlay of leftist talking points and Islamorage...until I began to attempt to source the genesis of each. It then crytallized that the subject matter wasn't the point. It has NEVER been the point, either for the raging left nor for the North Koreans, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda...their rage was borne not of facts, but of positions. With eyes bulging and each enraged shriek rocketing flecks of spittle...they were exhibiting what I recognized as...a tantrum against an "authority figure" by someone suffering from arrested adolescence. The "bulge and spittle" corps does not need reason or rationale discourse, it only fuels the tantrum...any recongnition does. It fans the flames. It's based upon a need to "act out", "lash out", scream out because "I want my way, I want my way, I want my way" and if you don't give it to me I will (fill in the blank). And if you don't give it to me, you are a (bad person, racist, homophobe, corporate lackey, war mongerer, ...doody ball) The problem with trying to engage in discourse or in any meaningful dialogue, is that the arena itself is rigged. You end up in a bizarre dance of the mating swans, nobody making any progress and the whole farcical scene ending up in Doody-Ball Diplomacy, just to keep them placated and pacified. You look weak and helpless to stop the tantrums, which only reinforces the behaviour. We are locked in an internal struggle with the puerile and now a worldwide struggle with tantrum throwing adolescents. The ONLY "cure", I suppose...is to stop being the authority figure. If only the world could afford that. I'm tired and weary of dealing with our own brats on the left. Their lies and manipulations. Their self-absorbed, me first/me always tantrums. Their constant spewing of venom at all things even remotely "in loco parenti". It seems that what we need is not statesmen schooled in diplomacy, but fostermen schooled in child pyschology. Otherwise, we are in for an election year of Doody-Ball Debate and a decade longer of Doody-Ball Diplomacy. Such is the legacy of the Bulge and Spittle Corps, here and abroad. Gene Callahan :"Leaving Iraq won’t solve the problem—no more than did saving the Kuwaitis, the Bosnians, the Kosovars, the Afghans from the Russians, or the Somali Muslims from hunger." VDH as always is hilarious in the contortions he goes through to avoid stating the obvious -- we've been bombing and killing Moslems for a long time now, and some of them have gotten a bit ticked off. Scott :"VDH as always is hilarious in the contortions he goes through to avoid stating the obvious -- we've been bombing and killing Moslems for a long time now, and some of them have gotten a bit ticked off. Moonbat drive-by alert. One can always tell by the combination of smug self-satisfaction coupled with a lack of any real content. Yes, it's ONLY our actions that fuel their hatred. Funny, but prior to the present wars in Afghanistan and Iraq I really don't recall any offensive actions on the part of the US directed against "Moslems". But then again, I KNOW some actual history about that part of the world and not simply regurgitating the same lame talking points found at the DU or the Daily Kos. Scott.
Samuel H :This comment is intended for Gene Callahan. I think it is "hilarious" the "contortions" we have gone through NOT to kill the Moslems we have been bombing according to you. Given our status as a FAR greater military power than all Moslem nations combined, if we truly were the aggressor do you think there would be any "Moslems" willing to burn our flag, burn replicas of our president, shoot nuns, etc. Gene, you are doing the contorting. Brad Brooks :Gene Callahan, please get a grip. Were we "bombing and killing Moslems" before 1979 and the taking of our embassy by Iranian Muslims? Were we "bombing and killing Moslems" before our 250+ Marines were blown to smithereens by Muslims in Lebanon in 1983? Were we "bombing and killing Moslems" before Lockerbie? The embassies in Africa? The Cole? I guess you figure we had 9/11 coming, the Cole, Somalia et al??? Fools like you disgust me. Take your twisted liberal guilt, go away and rot with it. jill :You'd have to get rid of all the child abuse too. Issues of "shame" and "honour" abound in abusive societies because natural human pride has often been beaten out of them. (See Alice Miller and Sam Vaknin.) The West still struggles with some of these issues too but not to the same volume...thanks for the good read! I enjoy the brisk fresh writing of columnists who see through the Islamic types. perianwyr :What does Michael Moore have to do with all this again? Comments have been archived for this page. |
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Bravo, bravo. I wonder if our contemporaries don't think of this question of honor (and shame that is its correlate) when the Muslim world is discussed because so many of them don't have any education in what virtue is? And shame! from pornography to 'no fault' divorces to bankruptcy used as a management tool to....
Oct 14, 2006 03:03 PM