Welcome to the Marines (Corporate Marines Book 2) by Tom Germann Page B

time saw this as an opportunity to test new weapons in a combat environment and also snub the Warsaw Pact without starting an all-out war. They supported and sponsored the local insurgents. This made the entire situation worse, lengthening the conflict and increasing casualties.”
    I turned and looked at the professor. “I think that the Russians and Warsaw Pact forces could have kept that conflict up for a long time. I think that they could have ‘won’ as far as beating the organized forces and still accepting some slow losses as fighters trickled in from other surrounding countries. But with increasing openness with the West and the increasing costs, the decision was made to pull out. Both were political reasons resulting in a political defeat, not a true military one.”
    The professor was nodding. “I see you put some thought into that, candidate. A basic explanation, but acceptable. Tell me, how could the Russian and allied forces have won that conflict?” He was watching me carefully and I thought about it for a second.
    I took another deep breath. “If they had not cared about the political impact and had fought smarter, then they could have held the country against the rebels. It may have bankrupted the Pact, but they could have done it even by cutting their costs. Smaller military units of not conscripts, but Special Forces going out and finding the people supporting the insurgents, then killing them all. Wipe out the entire family or tribal structure behind them. It would bring such fear that the locals would work with them after a few examples. Historically, this has been done by other groups and has been extremely successful. You have to be good to your supporters and merciless to your enemies. The Middle East appreciated strong leadership and a firm hand, as long as it was not harsh.” I paused and continued. “The other option, using conscripts, would be to block off the main passes into the country and take the war to the supporters hiding in other countries across the border. Complete and total war destroying the supply chains so that a single rifle has to come in on foot from a port hundreds of miles away.”
    I moved back to my seat while the class watched me. Some of them looked shocked at how bloodthirsty I had been in my solutions. Some didn’t. The vocal blonde was looking nervous but relieved.
    The Professor cleared his throat and was smiling as always. “Good answer candidate.” He looked at Mouth. “Be thankful he saved your hide on that one.” He looked back at me. “A very good answer. Totally rule and dominate the countryside so anyone resisting you knows that they, their family and even their tribe will die if they are caught. Used successfully in past. Those empires tend to do well if they are balanced. The other option decreases the chances of the locals fighting back as no one can support them effectively. Of course, that means you are fighting an even bigger war.”
    He paused and gave us this last option. “You could always just carpet-bomb the country and then nuke it, rendering the entire area useless and impassable. Nothing can pass that, then, and your enemies know how serious you are.”
    He looked up and grinned again. “Time for your next class, candidates. Off you go, then.”
    We trooped out with lots more to think about. I wondered, were all senior personnel in the Corporation as bloodthirsty?

AMERICA AND
THE THIRD WORLD
    T he next class that stood out was with the same professor. But he didn’t ask us for a rationale on why things had happened as they had in that series of conflicts. He just told us.
    He was at the front of the class with his big smile, as always. As the last of us sat down in our seats, he began. “Today’s discussion is the U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East. The U.S. as an entity became involved in the region after the discovery of oil. This was important as a tactical and strategic advantage in the ongoing cold war. The problem, simply