Judging history pt 2

[Pannonian]

Regarding Osama, it is too early to tell what effect his life had on the world of military strategy. Far too early. But there will be lessons, and those lessons will be taught. Just like with Giap. Unlike with Giap those lessons will never be considered worthwhile, however. Osama's lessons are political. Cautionary tales. Lessons hard learned. Very unlike Giap, who at least gave us some constructive examples in the area of military strategy. Osama's lessons will center around being careful who you arm, and being careful who you get in bed with.

Hard to imagine Bin Laden's disciples sitting down with the US Army's strategists for a friendly chat and discussing how things could have been different if a different approach had been taken, as Giap did with McNamara. IIRC that chat also led to a reappraisal of the events around the initial stages of war, with Giap's version of events leading the US to reassess what was historically seen as a naval attack by North Vietnam. I think McNamara's lesson was that a tendency to think a certain way can lead one to appraise evidence towards that preconceived conclusion, blotting out any objective assessment of the evidence.