BlacksmithSO YOU’VE DECIDED TO LOSE A WAR
A Helpful Pamphlet for the Impulsive Commander-in-Chief
John Birmingham
Mar 20
Congratulations, sir. Congratulations.
You’ve done it again. Nobody thought you would do it; a lot of people said don’t do it, very smart people, military people, constitutional people, the so-called experts, and yet here we are. You’ve started a war in the Middle East. Again with the Middle East. Always a mess over there. A total mess. But now it’s your mess, sir, which in a way is very strong leadership when you think about it.
Take a moment. Breathe it in. That burning smell? That’s history, Mister President. That’s legacy. A lot of presidents, they want the legacy, they talk about the legacy, but they don’t get it. But you’ve got it now. You’re going to be remembered for this. Very strongly remembered. And that’s important. People forget that.
You made history. You really did. You kicked over the hornet’s nest. Nobody even talks enough about the murder hornets anymore, they used to, for about ten minutes, and then they stopped, very unfair to the hornets frankly, and now the murder hornets of history are everywhere. They’re swarming, they’re very upset, and they’ve started stinging you in a very exposed area. Maybe the most exposed area. We don’t have to say what area. Everybody knows.
Now, this is very important, maybe the most important thing in the whole pamphlet: do not panic. Do not do it, sir. Because when you panic, you post. And when you post, you explain. And when you explain, frankly, it gets worse. Much worse. So put the phone down, sir.
Many great leaders, and also many very stupid leaders, which is important, there’s a lot of overlap historically, many have found themselves exactly where you are now: staring in open-mouthed horror at a war they were absolutely sure would be easy, beautiful, very cool, very legal, and over before the Club tournament this weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
But, sir. The murder hornets of reality have arrived, and this is not ideal, but it is manageable.
Alexander managed. Napoleon managed. Very tough guys, by the way. Not talked about enough anymore. You don’t hear the names like you used to. Sad. And you, sir, you are in that company now. Elite company. Very selective. Not everybody gets in. A lot of people try, they don’t make it. You made it.
And the good news? There is good news. People don’t say that enough in situations like this. There is always good news, you just have to look very hard and maybe not look at some other things.
Help is at hand.
Take another breath. Not too many, don’t want to aggravate your neck sores, sir.
We’re going to get through this. One way or another. But probably one way.
And much more
#JohnBirmingham
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