It's the Tribes, Stupid

While researching a book about Alexander the Great's counter-guerrilla campaign in Afghanistan, author Steven Pressfield drew some parallels to our current Middle East misadventure and provides an interesting perspective worth the read.

Pressfield's contention is that we have to fully understand the history and meaning of "tribes", before we can fully understand the enemy we face today. Although it's a bit overly-simplified, Pressfield raises some interesting points by reflecting on the lessons of history, particularly from Alexander.

"...the clash of East and West is at bottom not about religion. It's about two different ways of being in the world. Those ways haven't changed in 2300 years. They are polar antagonists, incompatible and irreconcilable. The West is modern and rational; its constituent unit is the nation. The East is ancient and visceral; its constituent unit is the tribe."

"In the end, unless we're ready to treat them they way we did Geronimo, the tribe is unbeatable. They're just too crazy. They're not like us. Tolerance and open-mindedness are not virtues to them; they're signs of weakness. The tribe is too rigid to bend, and it can't be negotiated with. Perhaps in the end, our leaders, like Alexander, will figure some way to bring the tribal foe around. More likely in my opinion, they'll arrive at the same conclusion as did Lord Roberts, the legendary British general. Lord Roberts fought (and defeated militarily) tribesmen in two bloody wars in Afghanistan in the 19th century. His conclusion: get out. Lord Roberts' axiom was that the farther away British forces remained from the tribesmen, the more likely the tribesmen were to feel warmly toward them; the closer he got, the more they hated him and the more stubbornly and implacably they fought against him."