Riding the Red Horse Quotes

“Whenever I begin to wonder if ICOTESCAS, the International Community Of The Ever So Caring And Sensitive, aren’t really just self-centered sociopaths, I find I can bring my mind back to reality by contemplating the issue of modern day African slavery. There are groups—Christian Solidarity International, for example—who raise money to “redeem,” which is to say, free, which is to say, pay ransom for, slaves held in Africa. The people in these groups seem to feel very good about themselves when they ransom a slave. And, as long as it makes them feel good to do so, I suppose they don’t feel the need to think about what they’re doing, or to realize that every time they do it, they make slave raiding more profitable, and increase the numbers of slaves taken.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“Clio, the patron goddess of history, has a sense of humor; she teaches us that not all problems have solutions”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“Osama bin-Laden, though reportedly very wealthy, lives in a cave. Yes, it is for security, but it is also leadership by example. It may make it harder to separate, both physically and psychologically, Fourth Generation war leaders from their troops. It also makes it harder to discredit those leaders with their followers.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“Grant the opposing armies the ‘honors of war,’ tell them what a fine job they did, make their defeat ‘civilized’ so they can survive the war institutionally intact and then work for your side.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“How U.S forces conduct themselves after the battle might be as important in Fourth Generation war as how they fight the battle. What the USMC calls cultural intelligence is of vital importance in Fourth Generation war, and it must go down to the lowest rank. In Iraq, the Marines seem to be grasping this much better than the U.S. Army.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“We estimate that USMC infantry today has a sustained march rate of 10 to 15 kilometers per day; German World War II line, not light, infantry could sustain 40 kilometers.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“America, with a closed political system (regardless of which party wins, the Establishment remains in power and nothing really changes) and a poisonous ideology of multiculturalism, is a prime candidate for the homegrown variety of Fourth Generation war, which is by far the most dangerous kind.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“In Fourth Generation war, invasion by immigration can be at least as dangerous as invasion by a state army.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“In Fourth Generation war, the state loses its monopoly on war. All over the world, state militaries find themselves fighting nonstate opponents such as al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Almost everywhere, the state is losing.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“Naval supremacy means little in an era of free trade when the enemy owns no ships, and even air supremacy is of dubious value when the enemy refuses to line up in red-coated ranks on the battlefield to be mowed down from above.”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse

“The very success of the Western way of war has led to its increasing irrelevance with regards to ongoing conflicts; how can the enemy state be defeated when it has already been destroyed, not only as a coherent military force but as a government entity as well?”
― Tom Kratman, Riding the Red Horse