> The barrage of criticism leveled at Samuel Huntington's notion of a "clash of civilizations"17 in no way lessens the vital point he made—that however much the grouping of peoples by religion and culture rather than political or economic divisions offends academics who propound a world defined by class, race, and gender, it is a reality, one not diminished by modern communications.
> But how does one integrate the study of culture into military training? At present, it has hardly any role. Paul M. Belbutowski, a scholar and former member of the U.S. Delta Force, succinctly stated a deficiency in our own military education system: "Culture, comprised of all that is vague and intangible, is not generally integrated into strategic planning except at the most superficial level."
You don't. You change the culture by socially engineering it. That's how the West has always done things. But we must understand the savage and his culture... and understand his brute nature so that we may deal with him.
I have no doubt as to the value of the social engineering, knowledge of American values and norms are spread by American media, for the price of an armored division and hiring from the Arab emigre population in the United States, an Arabic movie and TV studio could be created. More people throughout the world are familiar with Miranda rights than with the US constitution, partially because the US constitution is dead words, while what Hollywood produces are reenactments.
I mostly agree with your point of view.
But that begs the question of why the Middle East, which for thousands of years had ruled western eurasia, was conquered by the West. I say it was because the West developed a form of culture, politics and military that is simply more powerful. And the article is giving some of the particulars here.
>Well to me it reeks of Orientalism
So is it your view that the Middle East would be a wonderful, just, egalitarian, materially comfortable place if it weren't for the evil West?
Having advised the Iraqi army, and having tried to prepare beforehand by reading Lawrence, Patai, Nydell, etc, I would say that this short essay was by far the best of the bunch.
I think de Atkine also makes insightful points about how good people can create toxic organizations when they feel insecure about their status within the organization.