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Originally Posted by bobkoure
Interesting that the Marines should read Troopers. Too bad about the movie.
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Despite popular belief Marines can read a little
I think some of the philosophies expressed in the book fit into the Marine Corps philosophy about our place as individual Marines/citizens and the role of the Corps as an institution. I also think the book borrowed heavily from Plato's Republic...it's much easier to get an 18-21 year old to read Sci-Fi than the dry ramblings of a dead guy
Only we effete old farts have a real appreciation for such things.
The movie did suck, I was very disappointed. However, it is rare to have a movie come close to a book in terms of depth.
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Originally Posted by bobkoure
Recently, I've been wondering if the best thing might be to try to organize Iraq into states/regions/whatever and let them decide if they want to stay together. Why should we impose a British-made border on them? The Turks'll have a fit over Kurdistan, the Iranians will try to absorb the south, but wouldn't this actually give the Sunnis less reason to fight. They've lost their control of the country and, with democracy, are facing a tyrany of the majority (something Dems here in the US might understand... :-))
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From what I experienced in Iraq, they are a very nationalistic people, despite the ethnic issues. They all fear the other ethnic groups will start a civil war but none really wants to divide the country. I think now that some of the more radical elements in the Sunni provinces have been removed the Sunnis will buy into the democratic process. Politically this is a lot like South Africa once apartheid was lifted. Like white South Africans most of the Sunnis will still have the benefit of better education and expertise running the large institutions thus they will still have a large roll in the new order.