What canStar Warsteach us about war ? Political bloggers ca n’t aid but look at the original trilogy through the lens of real - worldcounter insurgencytactics , leading them to enquire if the Rebel Alliance was fighting the wrong fight .
The conversation start up withan email from the Center for a New American Security ’s Abu Muqawama ’s brother :
Why did n’t the Rebel Alliance pursue a scheme of insurgency in their uprising against the Galactic Empire ? I would argue that they pursued a scheme of conventional war against the Empire and forwent every vista of guerilla scheme and manoeuvre . They finally came around a bit in the conclusion by co - opting the Ewoks onto their side . Why had n’t they pursued that strategy on a bigger scale ? alternatively , they simply staged two established assualts on the Empire ’s substance of sombreness : theDeath Star . Although both attempts were successful , I think they get lucky .
Democracy Arsenal ’s Patrick Barryisn’t convince :
[ G]iven the intergalactic nature of the war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance , [ is ] a classic insurgence is even possible ? If one of the guerilla ’s big advantages is his knowledge of the local environs , and the silent accompaniment of the inhabitant of that environment , then is n’t that advantage pretty much negated in the vacuum of space ? I imagine that the blank space - found nature of war in the Star Wars universe tighten up the Alliance ’s strategic options , perhaps importantly . I suspect that the maverick were pursuing the best readiness of maneuver available to them – wag asymmetric war against the Empire ’s vulnerable established military assets .
Think Progress ’ Matthew Yglesias , meanwhile , takes the argument one step further :
To say that the Rebel Alliance ” simply grass two conventional assaults on the Empire ’s pith of gravity : the Death Star ” is , I reckon , to misconstrue the situation . What ’s going on is that nobody on either side of the warfare seriously gainsay the notion that “ reverence will keep the local systems in line . Fear of this battlestation . ” … Once it ’s clear that the Empire can demolish planets wholesale , the rebels are in agreement with Tarkin and the Emperor that sufficient firepower , deploy without conscience , can , in fact , make headway the state of war . Thus , the rebels only hope for stave in off frustration is a bold approach on the Death Star itself . As Exum ’s newspaperman notes , “ they got lucky ” in terms of destroying the Death Star so it made perfect sense for the Emperor to just reply by strain to make a new one . Here , again , both English correspond that a fully operational Death Star can end the war , so again the rebels need to mount a somewhat heroic onset . And they advance !
But the lesson here is n’t that the rebels are being irrationally conventional ; the lesson is that there are limits to the logic of pacification doctrine . overpowering force play and brutality really can be go for to good effect if you ’re really willing to unleash it in an evil direction .
Somewhere , George Lucas is shaking his head and thinking to himself that just meant to make a proficient movie …
MoviesStar state of war
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