--- "J.D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It seems to me that there is a national partnership > between the US and Europe, with the US specializing > in being the best warriors they can be, Europeans > specializing in peackeeping, and the British > bridging > the gap. Here seems to be more evidence for that... > > >From London to Iraq: Peacekeeping Lessons Learned > the Hard Way > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23555-2003Apr3.html
> LONDON, April 3 -- It was Royal Marines versus Iraqi > civilians on the soccer field in Zubair south of > Basra. The referee was a local community leader, and > the crowd of onlookers included armed British > riflemen > who kept a nervous eye on the proceedings. The final > score: 9 to 3 for the Iraqis... <snip> > ...last Tuesday, Lt. Col. Mike Riddell-Webster of > the Black Watch regiment traded his helmet for a > tam-o'-shanter, ditched his sunglasses and took his > men to patrol the streets of Zubair on foot. It was, > reported the Daily Telegraph, "a quintessentially > British moment." > > "You can't win hearts and minds from the back of an > armored vehicle," Goldsworthy said. "You've got to >get down, take off your helmet and deal with people on > their own level." <snip> > ..."I love Americans -- they're wonderful to work > with," > said [Ellie} Goldsworthy, who served alongside U.S. > forces in > Turkey and Bosnia. "But I'm afraid the American > attitude of today is like the British attitude of 120 > years ago during the Empire. We thought everyone > wanted to be an Englishman and live an English life, > celebrate the queen and have cream tea. Americans > seem > to believe that everyone is envious and wants to be > part of America. It's as though they haven't learned > the lessons we've learned in a very hard way." > > Goldsworthy cites photographs showing American > soldiers ordering Iraqi civilians to lie face down > in the dirt while they are checked for weapons. "For > Arabs, to be spread-eagled with your face in the > dust is a hugely shameful thing," she said... <snip> Just read this and couldn't help noticing an echo in what I wrote about dealing with horses (or dogs or kids); being a true "lead mare" is not the same thing as being a real "Alpha B." Maybe it's no coincidence that a British Quaker wrote one of the best-known remonstrances against animal cruelty not much over 120 years ago: "Anna Sewell said that the aim of her 'little book' was 'to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses'. When it was first published, in 1877, the book had little influence, until animal protection societies recognized that Black Beauty's story was a powerful means of showing both adults and children the hardship and downright cruelty which horses often suffered at the hands of unthinking people." http://www.bookworm.com.au/pm00003.htm ...and that there has been a recent plethora of "horse whisperer" types here in America, preaching the "development of a relationship with the horse" instead of "breaking the horse." <grimace> Since hearing of Jeffery's cat, I've been upset; doing a lot of cuddling with the 'house-tigers,' and spent time today giving the horses 'scritchies' in their favoritest spots... A biography of Anna Sewell (the encyclopedia site wasn't working, so this is more of a child's version): http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3203/sewell.htm For those who haven't read the classic, here's an on-line text: http://www.literatureproject.com/black-beauty/ Debbi __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more http://tax.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
