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The miracle that did not happen
[The News (Pak)] Some of us ‐ I can’t say how many but a good number certainly, in this number included battalions of retired officers who are always waiting for miracles to happen ‐ were eager for something to happen round about the end of October and the beginning of November.The march on the capital ‐ which as we know well by now did not quite turn out to be anything like Mussolini’s march on Rome when his Fascist Party seized power ‐ we took to be the catalyst that would set things in motion. The capital would be paralysed, compelling the real battalions to move and the oligarchs to run for cover. No one quite spelled it out this way but this was the general outline of the miracle that was fondly, perhaps foolishly, expected to happen. Two things happened instead. The march fizzled out before it began. It was a tactical blunder, a foolish masterstroke, to announce a march, and the capital’s seizure, beforehand. Even wars are not announced this way. You strike first, whether at Pearl Harbour or the invasion of Iraq, and make the formal declaration of war afterwards. That’s what cold start doctrine is all about ‐ stealthy, lightning attack first and everything else later. Take away the element of surprise and before even the first shot is fired half your advantage is lost. Posted by: Fred 2016-11-09 |
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