From: JAY DUGGER (duggerj1@charter.net)
Date: Thu Apr 10 2003 - 22:06:02 MDT
>-- On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 22:44:46 -0400
"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" <sentience@pobox.com> wrote:
[snip stuff correctly preceded by a useful subject line]
>
>
>Why is it that US troops aren't stopping the looting? It
>seems like a very poor sign of things to come, but
>perhaps there is a good explanation I am not familiar
>with.
>
From the DoD Dictionary of Military Terms
(http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/p/04019.html)
phases of military government
(DOD) 1. assault--That period which commences with first
contact with civilians ashore and extends to the
establishment of military government control ashore by the
landing force. 2. consolidation--That period which
commences with the establishment of military government
ashore by the landing force and extends to the
establishment of control by occupation forces. 3.
occupation--That period which commences when an area has
been occupied in fact, and the military commander within
that area is in a position to enforce public safety and
order. See also civil affairs; military occupation.
Granted definitions and plans differ, but news makes me
think the coalition forces still work at controlling and
consolidating Iraq. So coalition forces haven't yet
started occupation, and aren't "in a position to enforce
public safety and order."
Please remember military police count as a very small
subset of the military proper, and even then they exist to
enforce discipline within the military more than to do the
same sort of work as civilian law enforcement. Soldiers
and Marines do not make very good police. They train with
very different tools and techniques for very different
ends. Expecting military servicemembers to keep order in
Iraq isn't reasonable. A police force made up only of SWAT
teams would stand a better chance of doing so, and would
still fail.
This explanation might make clear why looting continues.
Your local university or college ROTC program could
probably give you a better answer. See
http://www.armyrotc.gatech.edu/people/cadre.html
Jay Dugger
http://www.vibepusher.com/~jdugger
You will go far. Start now.
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