ASV neatkarības dienai veltīts Dienas grauds

[..] Nelaiķis sers Maikls Kuinlans atzīmēja, ka konflikti mūs  bieži pārsteidz nesagatavotus. Tas tādēļ, ka mēs būvējam savu aizsardzību tādiem uzbrukumiem, kādus mēs sagaidām un progozējam, bet tas nenovēršāmi liek pretiniekam modificēt taktiku un stratēģiju, kurai mēs neesam gatavi.  Mēs (ASV-VB) pēdējo desmitgažu laikā bieži esam bijuši pārsteigti – dažreiz viss beidzās labi, citreiz nē, kas var radīt iespaidu, ka neiejaukšanās stratēģija vismaz aiztaupīs mums tos pārsteigumus, kas jau ir  ietverti Amerikas ārpolitikas koncepcijā.  Tā ir tukša fantāzija. Ikreiz, kad mēs neesam kontaktā ar pretinieku, kad necenšamies sagatavot kaujas lauku nākotnes konfliktiem un novērst apstākļus, kas padara mūs ievainojamus, tad katrs apdraudējums mums un mūsu sabiedrotajiem nāk kā pārsteigums.[..]

Filips Bobits, jurists, profesors, grāmatu autors The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History (2002) and Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century (2008), The Garments of Court and Palace: Machiavelli and the World That He Made (2014).

vara bungas: Īsāk sakot esiet pro-aktīvi, tas aiztaupīs jums nepatīkamus pārsteigumus. Radiet nepatīkamus pārsteigumus saviem pretiniekiem!

[..] The late Sir Michael Quinlan observed that in conflict we are always likely to be surprised. That is because we prepare our defenses for the attacks we anticipate and so inevitably drive our opponents to pursue the tactics and strategies against targets we have not foreseen. We have been so often surprised these last several decades—sometimes happily so, oftentimes not—that it must be alluring to imagine that strategies of non-engagement at the least would spare us those surprises that haunt American policy. This is an enervated fantasy. When we are disengaged—when we are not trying to prepare the field for potential conflict and preclude situations that put us at a disadvantage—every act that threatens us and our allies comes as a surprise.[..]

Philip Bobbitt,  constitutional theorist, published eight books. His bestsellers include The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History (2002) and Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century (2008). His most recent book is The Garments of Court and Palace: Machiavelli and the World That He Made (2014).