Barr seeks to subdue D.C. protests by ‘flooding the zone’ with federal firepower washingtonpost.com/national-secur… // Barr is a lawyer, not a military strategist. He thinks that domination, violent or not, which is a victory at the physical-tactical level is the end-all objective. But,
2/ being a lawyer, he does not realize that there are two other levels of conflict--mental and moral, with moral being the highest. Unarmed, peaceful protesters, even if they were silent, would be winning a strategic moral victory. The narratives are changing. The violence has
3/ has been condemned. The violence and physical destruction by protesters seems to be waning. There is evidence that a good deal of this mayhem was from outside agitators, most likely far-right agent provocateurs. The police have over-reacted. Their violence against protesters
4/ journalists has cost them legitimacy and confidence. Mayors & police chiefs are criticizing them. Good officers are starting to stand up. Former military leaders, and active duty leaders, at the highest ranks have called for the military to defend the Constitution, protect the
5/ rights of the protesters, and to protect the protesters. You are starting to see, first from the streets, but an establishment drawing a line against Trump. As long as the protests continue to be non-violent, a strategic moral victory is in sight. Trump could deploy an armored
6/ division and it would not change the outcome. As long as the protests continue to be non-violent, Trump is on the strategic defensive and he has zero physical conflicts that can achieve victory. The protesters need to keep pressing their advantages--non-violence, moral clarity
7/ and moral strength, realizing that whether or not Trump/Barr realize it, they are headed toward defeat. Take what I say with a grain of salt. But, I was one of only two intelligence analysts who thought the coup against Gorbachev would fail. In fact, I wrote an assessment one
8/ before the coup assessing that any such coup would fail. Step back and look at this without emotions. There are nine dimensions to conflict: physical, mental, moral; tactical, operational, strategic. Where in those 9 squares do you see a Trump victory? As long as the protests
9/ maintain all their advantages at the strategic moral level, Trump and Barr are losers. Cotton and the GOP are losers. Hell, Barr, deploy two armored divisions. Give Trump his parade.
10/ I need to add that the narrative of significant structural and cultural reforms of the police and ending violence against African Americans and other persons of color has grown louder and stronger, and supported by police chiefs & military leaders.
