COIN is the new black in military circles these days. Owing to this, many people have Malaya on the mind. The “Malayan Emergency”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Emergency was one of Britain’s most successful “small wars”:http://www.britains-smallwars.com/malaya/, and for good reason. The Brits went the extra mile in this longest of long wars. From _Inside the SAS_: (pp.27)
bq. Under Calvert, the Regiment also evolved some startling methods of clandestine warfare. One of these resulted from their discovery that the local prostitutes were demanding payment for their services in bullets and grenades, rather than cash. This ‘currency’ was then passed to the enemy. Calvert’s men were promptly used to pose as clients in order to supply self-destroying ordnance including hand grenades fitted with instantaneous fuses (to kill the users) and exploding bullets which, when fired, served the same purpose.
About Younghusband
Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (1863-1942) was a British explorer, army officer, military-political officer, and foreign correspondent born in India who led expeditions into Manchuria, Kashgar, and
Tibet. He three times tried and failed to scale Mt. Everest and journeyed from China to India, crossing the Gobi desert and the Mustagh Pass (alt. c.19,000 ft/5,791 m) of the Karakoram mountain range in modern day Pakistan. Convinced of Russian designs on British interests in India, Younghusband proactively engaged in the nineteenth century spying and conflict over Central Asia between the British and the Russians known as the Great Game.
"Younghusband" is a Canadian who has spent a number of years bouncing back and forth between his home country and Japan. Fluent in Japanese and English with experience in numerous other languages from Spanish to Georgian, Younghusband has travelled throughout Asia. He graduated with an MA from the War Studies Department at the
Royal Military College of Canada, where he focussed on the Japanese oil industry and energy security issues. He has recently returned to Canada from Japan, and is working in the technology sector.
Compare to these present stories
Senator Wants IRS to Chase After Pimps Gates gives 500 hookers smart cards
By recognizing a natural market and exploiting it, Her Majesty’s forces and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation achieved their goals. Instead of attacking the market in puritanical fury, they used market mechanisms to (a) defeat terrorists and (b) stamp out disease.
On the opposite side of the social engineer scale, an American politician wishes to further distort and hide a market. In the even that terrorists (possible) or diseases (definitely) would use prostitutes as a vector, they would be that much more difficult to fight.
Fascinating strategy — and spot on commentary by Dan.
That reminded me of a passage from “Jungle Patrol”:http://www.bakbakan.com/junglep.html
_”The Line complained bitterly that so many men had been killed by defective shells that the men were afraid to fire their rifles, the Staff countering tartly with the suggestion that the line see that the men kept their arms clean and in serviceable condition.
All of which was obviously to be traced back to an idle afternoon in the rain when Major Wise had filled some dozens of pulajan shells with dynamite. Official reports of the day mention the finding of dead pulajans lying beside their shattered rifles. “_
This certainly sounds like a winning, erm, proposition for the SAS lads.
Serve Her Majesty, service her subjects.