General Petraeus must eat breakfast
As far as reported cancer of the prostate is concerned, it had no role to play in General passing out for a brief while, taking the help of aids to move out and return on his own strength with a cup of water in hand.
GENERAL PETRAEUS has promised that he would eat breakfast before he begins work. Indeed, he should do it every morning without fail. The General is Type-A personality who cares for the job in hand and not for own body. A happy balance has to be struck between the job in hand and own body on the ground. The blood sugar must be kept at the correct level for a human body to be fit and fine.
Questioning was tough but the General fielded all volleys well. After all he has faced enemy bullets and now faces insurgents and terrorists on two fronts - Afghanistan and Iraq.
The theme of the hearing was a wee bit demoralising to the professional soldier. It is withdrawal from Afghanistan as per plan commencing July 2011. A body of soldiers under an able commander moves forward to push the enemy back and put him in the withdrawal mode. Advance to contact the enemy is always heart warming. To withdraw from battle and break contact with the enemy marks a stigma on a soldier's career and does not let him enjoy a sound sleep for the rest of his life. And in Washington DC, on the Capitol Hill it was an operation of withdrawal ordered by civilian leadership that the general was asked to implement. In the Congressional hearing, General Petraeus had to spell out steps that he would take to ensure a neat and orderly withdrawal.
Overhaul military training
The Americans will have to think hard about a complete makeover of army training. The infantry is, as of now, a weak link. It is the infantry that leads the attack and holds the ground. However, the US Army's Infantry has not acquitted itself well - be it Korea, Vietnam or Iraq. The comfortable life style of an average American makes it hard for him to bear the rigours of war in the jungles, on the hills and in mud-slush. Only training can see them through.
Reverting to the passing out of the General in command of the US Central Command, I find that he is not alone in not eating breakfast. In the Second World War there were some Japanese Admirals in the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy who habitually skipped breakfast. When their war records were analysed, it was found that they always took wrong decisions in the morning as the blood sugar was not at the correct level.
Moral of the story is: Eat breakfast and drink a lot of water throughout the day. Never mind if you have to make a beeline to the loo. You will be walking erect thereafter.
As far as reported cancer of the prostate is concerned, it had no role to play in General passing out for a brief while, taking the help of aids to move out and return on his own strength with a cup of water in hand. Of course, he himself admitted that he was dehydrated as he did not drink water after eating some solid food before the Congressional Committee hearing began.
Questioning was tough but the General fielded all volleys well. After all he has faced enemy bullets and now faces insurgents and terrorists on two fronts - Afghanistan and Iraq.
The theme of the hearing was a wee bit demoralising to the professional soldier. It is withdrawal from Afghanistan as per plan commencing July 2011. A body of soldiers under an able commander moves forward to push the enemy back and put him in the withdrawal mode. Advance to contact the enemy is always heart warming. To withdraw from battle and break contact with the enemy marks a stigma on a soldier's career and does not let him enjoy a sound sleep for the rest of his life. And in Washington DC, on the Capitol Hill it was an operation of withdrawal ordered by civilian leadership that the general was asked to implement. In the Congressional hearing, General Petraeus had to spell out steps that he would take to ensure a neat and orderly withdrawal.
Withdraw he must lest his political bosses, President downwards lose the next election for failing to bring boys back home. Indeed this active talk of withdrawal and the general's passing out will be a source of unadulterated joy for the Taliban terrorists. Indeed a dampener for the NATO forces.
Be that as it may the plan to bring the Surge to Kandahar and free the southern Afghanistan from the clutches of the Islamist terrorists is bound to receive a setback. However, it is for the American strategists to see that they do not hand over Afghanistan to Taliban on a silver platter. Nor Pakistan be permitted to run a proxy government in Kabul from Islamabad. The latter scenario will be worse than the former, if one is out to choose the lesser evil. One must admit the truth that wily generals of Pakistan had a leading role in putting the NATO in this predicament. As stated earlier in appreciating a similar scenario, I must state again that Pakistan is a past master of the art of duplicity. It has perfected the game of running with the hare and hunting with the hound at the same time.
Be that as it may the plan to bring the Surge to Kandahar and free the southern Afghanistan from the clutches of the Islamist terrorists is bound to receive a setback. However, it is for the American strategists to see that they do not hand over Afghanistan to Taliban on a silver platter. Nor Pakistan be permitted to run a proxy government in Kabul from Islamabad. The latter scenario will be worse than the former, if one is out to choose the lesser evil. One must admit the truth that wily generals of Pakistan had a leading role in putting the NATO in this predicament. As stated earlier in appreciating a similar scenario, I must state again that Pakistan is a past master of the art of duplicity. It has perfected the game of running with the hare and hunting with the hound at the same time.
Overhaul military training
The Americans will have to think hard about a complete makeover of army training. The infantry is, as of now, a weak link. It is the infantry that leads the attack and holds the ground. However, the US Army's Infantry has not acquitted itself well - be it Korea, Vietnam or Iraq. The comfortable life style of an average American makes it hard for him to bear the rigours of war in the jungles, on the hills and in mud-slush. Only training can see them through.
Reverting to the passing out of the General in command of the US Central Command, I find that he is not alone in not eating breakfast. In the Second World War there were some Japanese Admirals in the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy who habitually skipped breakfast. When their war records were analysed, it was found that they always took wrong decisions in the morning as the blood sugar was not at the correct level.
Moral of the story is: Eat breakfast and drink a lot of water throughout the day. Never mind if you have to make a beeline to the loo. You will be walking erect thereafter.
 | Previous Post |
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
