tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883131172123152234.post7324565335461380100..comments2023-08-20T16:29:20.381+01:00Comments on Poet at Jaybern: When Will They Learn?John Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020697451985437188noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883131172123152234.post-37241851548327389182013-09-12T21:57:53.530+01:002013-09-12T21:57:53.530+01:00Rum-Punch Drunk, Thank you for your kind comment, ...Rum-Punch Drunk, Thank you for your kind comment, I'm glad you liked the poem and I am doing slightly better than I was last month. <br /><br />You are right of course; hindsight is the only way of knowing the validity of any action and even then it is usually left to the victor to write history.<br /><br />My comments here are more about the hatred that results from foreign military intervention and in this particular case the added complexity created by the fact that the religions and cultures of the nations involved are so very different. This is made even more difficult because the Americans are not generally known for their ability to understand that older civilisations so not necessarily aspire to live in a society that talks ‘the American dream’ and ‘Apple Pie’, but is in truth so very far from that ideal.<br /><br />I believe that the Chinese General and strategist Sun Tzu summed it up about 2400 years ago when he wrote;<br /><br />‘If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.’John Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00020697451985437188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-883131172123152234.post-83844635114569223732013-09-12T18:53:53.921+01:002013-09-12T18:53:53.921+01:00Knowing what to do or what not to do is always a h...Knowing what to do or what not to do is always a hard call. Hindsight is the only thing that can tell us if our actions were right or wrong, but by then, the time has passed. I enjoyed your poem John, and hope you are doing a little better now. Rum-Punch Drunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13531893705181077869noreply@blogger.com