The Crescent and the Star: part III: Military: Islam, the fastest growing religion, holds the most strategic military areas: the key Malacca choke point, the African Horn, and much of the areas that either hold present or future oil as well as the coming world bread basket. All military actions are becoming more determined by the social settings. This was one of the main points of General Charles Krulaks retirement speech, The Strategic Corporal. Not only does low tech trump high tech, as in the AK-47 trumping the cruise missile, but high tech at this point can have unexpected negative PR. Videos of what the out-of-danger drone operators see as they fire missiles are now floating all over the Internet. In some you see the last seconds of humans trying to run for their lives from cars as they hear the drone approaching. Bloody war was thought neatly tucked away in the dishwasher with the Cascade. Being drawn and quartered seems, compared to those last seconds, almost nice. Emotionally many see those flying body parts, and the imagination of Internet viewers, as one would look down upon the Coliseum as Christians were thrown to the lions. And that martyrdom no small factor, (most likely decisive factor), in the Christians soon taking Rome. The drones break not only international boundaries but also rules of engagement.
Bottom-drawer tech combos of mere grappling hooks, AK-47s and duct-tape patched Evinrudes now tie up much of above-equator navies. The more what is held in reserve is also held back to, (just-only), be a question , then the more powerful a factor the question itself becomes. Seabed-missile, rogue torpedo, and mine have morphed into one hydra hybrid as close as the nearest Toys-R-Us or PC. Regulars can scream unsymmetrical as loud as the Redcoats screamed about those hiding behind stonewalls and as loud as knights screamed about the longbow. And with the same result : littoral to the coral. Military logistics was the power of the West as it babbles on that the untrained talk strategy while the pros talk logistics. That has been thrown to the wolves and the drones and the lions as the West now fights on far too many fronts. All the explosions in the no-lines of the Hindu Kush are not as powerful as one sneeze in Karachi. Africa collects as slowly and as strongly as the Prophet did in Medina. As safety in Africa equates with arms military tactics often precede Islam. The winners often act Islamic way prior to converting. Rebellion has spread not only into Eritrea but also well into Ethiopia. Kenya, once one of only a few unarmed places in Africa, now has well armed rebels well into eastern areas. Juba quiets and collects. Kampala may, with Museveni, still Sow The Mustard Seed but the office by necessity becomes more effectively Inman than statesman. Juba sees the long term. North, over the Aden Gulf, Bab El Mandeb may still mean terror but the land is trumping the sea. Sanaa cooks a one-ingredient stew: money. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in anger yells at the US dont come in as Admiral Mullen yells back in anger, we wont come in. This anger is as soft as the money is hard. It is now more openly realized that there is no northern border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Sanna is like a log cavalry fort in the Old West with only one weapon against the Apaches: money. As the English did in India the Wests main tactic is to pay off one tribe to ruthlessly control the others. Not as sure when all tribes are armed. But money is money and as was oft the case in India the paid off would only play a game giving an occasional wrong head and smilingly pocket the cash. But the poor with the guns increase in number. But in Islam control with money is against the main tenants of the religion. The forts logs quickly rot in that sand. Yet even with a possible slow rot in any war of attrition the party that can most afford to wait will win.
