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[Bad Thoughts]

49. A rebuttal (by means of anecdote)

You have every right to be concerned. However, the problem has the potential to teach a lesson of which you might approve.

A year ago my son wanted "Tide of Iron." It is a tactical level, two-player board game that takes place during WWII. He wanted it because it had lots of miniature soldiers and tanks, all fairly detailed. I wasn't keen on a wargame, but it was well regarded among board and wargamers.

When it came, we set up the first mission: a skirmish between Germans and Americans in the middle of forests and farms. I played the Americans, holed up in several houses. We made some attacks across empty spaces, but to little avail. Eager to get the game moving, I decided that the thing to do was charge--do the type of heroic action that wins the day in the movies.

I moved my squad out towards one of his positions. I hope to get in close for an assault. Then my son yelled, "OP fire," at which point he was planning to stop my attack by shooting at me. He rolled his five dice, all hits. I looked up how many dice I would get to roll: zero. Four of my guys died instantly.

We paused in shock. The notion of heroism evaporated in an instant; the cliches about war were false. A few days later, I mentioned this to a friend who had taught at West Point. He said it was realistic--one guy with a machine gun can kill a group of soldiers very effectively.

That's why I think that the lesson intended by your daughter's homework is less audacious than you think. It proposes bold objectives with limited abilities. Those who think that the US can solve problems around the world through military intervention neglect basic problems with the material and personnel limits of the US military. Military objectives need to be more modest than what Neocons (and some Democrats) want. Indeed, the problem suggests that there is an over-extension of resources in the mission that the question proposes.

Please, question the teacher. But also listen to the response