| As long-readers know, the only subject I am less qualified to write about than the law, is military strategy. I took three hours of Con Law at Marietta College, Marietta Ohio 45750 when Marbury vs Madison was a recent decision. I spent six years in the New Jersey then Ohio Army National Guard when mules were the principal form of transportation ending up as an E-3 having had a cup of coffee at E-5 about midway through the enlistment. As I told you during my Iraq saga in 2003-2004, I was a much better soldier as a civilian than I ever was when I was an actual soldier. While in Iraq I met up with Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. We got there about six hours apart and spent some portion of nearly every day together other on those days when I was in Mosul, or Fallujah, or Ramadi, or Hillah, or some place well beyond the walls of the Green Zone. You may have seen General Kimmitt on CNN or Fox News Channel. He actually understands military strategy and, if you catch him, you will be impressed by the way he translates military-speak into English. Earlier this week, Kimmitt wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal looking at the possible/probable effects of Putin having appointed Gen. Aleksandr Dvornikov as the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. He wrote: “Gen. Dvornikov is not a staff officer in Moscow. He is a seasoned combat veteran with previous responsibility for operations in Chechnya, Crimea and Armenia.” Kimmitt reminded WSJ readers that in 2015, Dvornikov was: “Sent in to prop up [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad at a time when Syrian government forces were near defeat. Gen. Dvornikov’s tactics were brutal, including dropping ‘dumb’ bombs in population centers, using banned cluster munitions, and employing siege tactics like those seen in Mariupol.” He ended the piece by warning: “Gen. Dvornikov is a ruthless commander with an established combat history. Don’t assume he will continue the poorly executed plans dreamed up by [prior Russian planners]. To the contrary, expect his plans to be more consistent with the strategy of his patron, Mr. Putin, and [Dvornikov’s] brutality to exceed even his reprehensible record in Syria.” Meanwhile, over at the NY Times, columnist Tom Friedman was citing John Arquilla who “recently retired as a distinguished professor of defense analysis at the U.S. Navy post-graduate school.” Friedman wrote that when he asked Arquilla what advice he would give Putin, the professor responded, “Make peace, you fool.” Friedman linked this to the excellent advice I have followed for decades, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.” Arquilla citied his three rules of modern warfare: Many and small beats large and heavy. Finding always beats flanking. Swarming always beats surging. The Ukrainian military has employed Arquilla’s rules by sending small units (military and militia), using relatively light weapons, to find and destroy or at least disrupt Russian armor and artillery movements. Arquilla told Friedman, “The Nazis bombed Stalingrad into the Stone Age in World War II, but then had to try and move through the rubble in small units to secure it and could not do so.” Gen. Kimmitt sent me a note yesterday which said of the Ukraine invasion: “It’s day 47. It’s official: The Ukrainians have lasted longer than the French did in WWII.” New Topic: The Mullings Director of Standards and Practices and I have a wonderful friend who was recently ordained as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church on her way to becoming a Priest later this year. We wrote to wish her a happy Easter and I reminded her that in January 2021 I suffered a cardiac arrest from which I was, obviously, resuscitated. “Therefore,” I wrote, “I’ve been through that resurrection thing, although not for the full three days as I am not a professional.” Schooled in both the Old and New Testaments she said that Jesus was, and I am, Jewish. I wrote back, “Happy 5782!” I hope you enjoy your Easter and/or Passover weekend with family, friends, or just peace and calm. See you next week. |
Mullings – A New Phase in Ukraine
