With the Russian Bear deciding the 'Great Game ' is back on and steady growth of the Chinese military--History and big geopolitics is, as Robert Kagan says , making a comeback.

Geopolitics and History invariably lead to the Clauswitzian politics by other means--war.

And in those other means, the United States has a distinct advantage over all others--not just in machines and materials--but where it counts the most:  NCO and Officer Leadership.

On March 20th, 2003, when the U.S. led coaltion crossed from Kuwait into Iraq, very few officers and non-commissioned officers of any rank had actual combat experience.

Five years and several months later--the United States military is one of the most combat-experienced militaries in history.

Virtually every officer of the line has led Soldiers and Marines on daily combat missions.

Sergeants and Junior Staff NCOs have come up through the ranks not in garrison or on training exercises but in combat.

Virtually every U.S. Rifle Platoon has something the Russian and Chinese military do not--experience in a gun fight.

While many may not believe that the U.S. has started winning in Iraq, the General Staff's of the authoritarian regimes know what is happening and surely must be wondering how their untested conscripts would fare against the battle hardened 1st Marine Division or 82nd Airborne.

In a proxy war, the lessons learned from Al Qaida--the Improvised Explosive Device-- and the Jaish al Mahdi --the explosive force penetrator-- would be employed by U.S. advisors.

If the authoritarian regimes were wise enough to download a copy FM 3-24 , the Counter Insurgency Manual, the U.S. officers and NCOs who implemented the tactics know all the tricks and how to subvert them.

The war in Iraq--whether a person thinks it was a mistake or the correct course of action--has led to an unintended advantage at the brink of the return of history--first hand experience in implementing politics by other means on a large scale all the way down to the Platoon level.

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