The wise man is often quiet. To listen, to think is the action of wisdom. The best insurgency operates in quiet. Lions roar after the kill, not before. The rattle means warning, means no fight. It is the quiet dog that bites and holds. Even now, we continue to fight an enemy that can hide in and live off the land. If they were wise or even cunning, they could “go to ground” yet again, to wait our departure.

Their quiet would be our victory. We would certainly lay claim, as we have before, and prepare to move onto bigger and better things. Our troops would leave, mostly, to be replaced by our MBAs and money men. Easy pickings. The smart lions win at the watering hole. Lucky us. We are fighting children, unfortunately we are being childish in our thinking and puerile in our arguments.