Were the Vikings not tribes? Their women were famously “off-the-leash,” so to speak.

Even the notion that the Macedonians were not a “tribe” makes very little sense to me, they got fairly upset with Alexander when he began to bring in others into the power structure … and began adopting “eastern despotic” ways … ie acting like an Absolute Monarch, as opposed to a King who has to build consensus among his nobles … ie staying loyal to the “tribe.”

Those videos are awfully sophisticated for the propagation of an idea with which you want to influence military policy in Afghanistan … and all on your own dime, too?

Well, I’m a cynic, but, if so, glad to see there’s someone who cares out there enough to do so much.

I suppose what I’m saying is that you’re mostly right here. I come from the intelligence field and have adopted a more culturally oriented background and mindset. I went through a year of language school in Farsi. That training included many cultural lessons. I grew to love the Iranian people and, later, the tribes in Afghanistan as well. There is much good there. I have looked into the eyes of the good Iranians and Afghans. I know these people.

But there is also radical Islam, teaching hate and a backward view of the world. I have also looked into the soulless eyes of the Islamic fascists. This is a very real and evil enemy. There is a large amount of Islamic “true believerism” at play in the radicals. It is evil and unrelenting. It can’t be negotiated with or appeased. It never forgets. It never forgives. And it will keep coming for us unless or until one or both of us is dead. That is the truth. However, it is extremely important to understand the cultural context the enemy works within, both on his home turf and in his embedded cells.

Also note that the insurgent methods used against us since we left Afghanistan after the defeat of the Soviets are the same ones we trained the Muj to use against the Soviets. Mogadishu. Fallujah. Afghanistan. The Swat Valley. All the same tactics and strategy designed by a former SF officer working for the CIA all those years ago. This also comes into play. Why we don’t pull out the play book we designed for the Muj and develop a strategy to fight against it is beyond me. Our real successes have been covert and spec ops related since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan (when the CIA went in country in October ‘01). Over and over I read of the various spec ops units successes and the conventional units failures, especially in Afghanistan. Still we insist on sending in conventional units to fight an unconventional war. And we hamstring our special operators with the most asinine rules of engagement imaginable. We reign them in when the “go native” (as Bob Mayer mentioned above). We seem to lack the stomach, the intestinal fortitude, to do what must be done…close with and kill the enemy….all of them. We fail to do so at our own peril.

Again, great job Steve. From a film/video perspective, I really enjoyed the presentation and the professional production. I think anything that stirs up conversation in this area is a good thing. Bravo sir! (Note: I’ve also enjoyed reading the comments of your other readers and fans.)

And fansquee about Gates of Fire as well – one of my all-time favorite books!

Please get active with your Twitter account to let people know when you update. I predict your readership will explode once people begin reading these updates.