THE EDITOR, Sir:MR. CLIVE Sutherland-Ocnacuwenga's letter titled "Military Doctrine and Defence of a Country" which was published in The Gleaner of April 12, 2003 has doubtless stimulated much thought both among military personnel and civilians. He asserted that the failures of Third World countries to defend themselves in some recent campaigns calls for a change in the way military doctrine and tactics have been traditionally pursued by these countries.
Mr. Sutherland-Ocnacuwenga has also questioned why the 'defence of Iraq has been at best a travesty.' In my opinion, the failure of the Iraqis and Third World fighting units in recent conflicts, has to do with the lack of good leadership coupled with poor application of sound military teachings. This has resulted in their inability to defend themselves. A change in military doctrine and tactics would serve little purpose for such countries.
SKILFULLY DELIVERED BLOWS
In the Iraqi conflict for instance, there appears to have been hardly any intelligent, determined and appropriate action taken by the Iraqi military leadership. I am afraid that they either forgot or disregarded the defence teachings of the famous 19th century Prussian military theorist, General von Clausewitz: "The defence form of war is not a mere shield, but a shield formed by skilfully delivered blows."
Did the Iraqis really believe that they could have successfully defended without air power? Here are German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's words on the result of tank operations in North Africa during World War II: "The British air supremacy ruled out all our tactical and operational principles which we had hitherto applied with success, because they were no longer applicable. There was no ideal solution which allowed us to compensate for the enemy's air superiority...the strength of the Anglo-Americans air force was the decisive factor..."
Rommel is regarded as the master of desert warfare, and his words must surely give us yet another reason why the Iraqis failed so miserably.
There are going to be many studies done of the Iraqi campaign. Such studies will not only look at doctrine but also on weapon systems, clothing, equipment and vehicles. The results, I am sure, will prove to be invaluable to Third World armies.
I am etc.,
COL. ALLAN DOUGLAS (ret'd)
alldouglas@aol.com
Miami, Florida
Via Go-Jamaica
