Sec. Kerry obviously does not know the difference between strategy and tactics. He thinks he is talking about strategy in the following clip, but he is actually talking about tactics.
There was an interesting event in 323 B.C. The Battle of Arbela on the plains of
Galga Mella, between Alexander the Great (an army of 50,000 ) and Darius, King
of Persia (an army of 1,000,000). Alexander's only strategy, the "what?", was to
kill Darius. It was based on Alexander's values and vision of spreading Macedon
culture over the land, while retaining the autonomy of "invaded"
countries.
He knew he had no chance against the whole army. To serve his
strategy, Alexander had several tactics - "how?" Element of surprise, the way he
set up his army - narrow and deep to fool Darius' chariots, the way his elite
"Companion Calvary" rammed Darius' camp down and how Alexander's archers killed
all the charioteers. At the end of the day Darius lost 400,000 men and Alexander
lost 1,247.
Both "strategy" and "tactics" are derived from ancient
Greek. To the Greeks, taktihos meant "fit for arranging or manoeuvring," and it
referred to the art of moving forces in battle, that is the "art and science of
how?". Strategos was the word for "general." Originally, strategy was the "art
of the general," or the art of preparing the troops for battle, the "art and
science of what".
Strategy (what?): What to achieve?
Tactics (How?) How to achieve
your strategies through who you are by what you do and with what you have.
Posted on September 17, 2014
Kerry: Our Strategy Is To Give "Military Assistance" In Iraq, Syria
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: At its core, our strategy is centered on a global coalition that will collaborate closely across a number of specific areas, including direct and indirect military support. Military assistance can come in a range of forms -- from training and equipping, logistics to airlift, and countries from inside and outside of our region are already right now providing that support in these venues.
I also have no doubt whatsoever that we will have the capabilities and resources we need to succeed militarily. And President Obama made clear we'll be expanding the military campaign to take on ISIL in Iraq, in Syria, wherever it is found. But this is not the Gulf War in 1991. It is not the Iraq War in 2003, and that's true for a number of reasons. Number one, U.S. ground troops will not be sent into combat in this conflict. From the last decade, we know that a sustainable strategy is not U.S. ground forces, it is enabling the local forces to do what they have to do for themselves and for their country.
I want to be clear, the U.S. troops that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. Instead, they will support Iraq forces on the ground as they fight for their country against these terrorists. And in Syria, the on the ground combat will be done by the moderate opposition which serves as the current best counterweight in Syria to extremists like ISIL.
