Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 08:22 PM 7/16/03 -0600, Greg J. Lorenzo wrote: >I suspect that Collins arguable brilliance emanates from the same rare >cookbook's you were quoting from last week in the fascinating British >Isles "hard cooked" versus "hard boiled" egg exchange. I suggest that >you never try to teach a pig to sing, it wastes you time and annoys the >pig. Greg It is clear that something I said got under your skin, though I have no idea what it might have been. But kindly cease attempting to use personal invective to bolster your shaky arguments. The Soviets based their guerilla training on the IRA campaign of 1917 to 1922, and the study of this campaign was the basis of the training received by Ho and Mao and Tito. It would seem that the very persons you laud so highly were simply applying the lessons written by the Big Fellow. And you completely neglect the nature of British rule in Ireland. It was most arrogant, most self-assured, and most eager to respond to resistance with great force. It was almost completely uncorruptible which is what makes the situation in Ireland radically different from other such campaigns, most remarkably China and Cuba. In 1917, probably 75% of the Southern Irish supported continued British governance while working peacefully towards some sort of Home Rule. By 1919, less than 10% of the Southern Irish felt this way, and governance by the Sinn Fein was a reality. This was not simply a matter of exploiting British errors, though their attempt to extend Conscription to Ireland was perceived by most Southern Irish as a direct insult. Rather, Collins developed the mechanisms for transferring the loyalty of the populace from the UK to the Irish State. Collins organized the Irish government, funded it without confiscation, defended it without undue bloodshed, and showed the Irish and the world that the Irish were indeed capable of self-governance. (He was also a magnificent pragmatist, which is why he was killed by former compatriots fighting a war of politically unrealistic principles.) I would recommend that you refresh your memory both by consulting any of the modern works on insurgency operations or, better yet, reviewing modern Irish scholarship, especially Tim Pat Coogan's books on Collins and the Long Fellow, de Valera. Marc msmall@infionline.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir! - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html