Asher,

I respect the Asiatic method of winning a battle. But imagine something, if your foot soldiers are hungry, they're going to have (A) headaches, (B) rumbling stomachs and (C) distraction from the task at hand. Remember "All Quiet on the Eastern Front"? (not a perfect example, but the soldiers are reduced for scavenging for ham and chocolate, not fighting the enemy).

There needs to be a recognition that not everybody involved in the struggle will be interested or even ethically motivated to fight. I wouldn't ask my mother to grab an SKS and join me in a foxhole. But I wouldn't hesitate to, if the tactical situation was correct, to run food up to the FOB (forward operations base) and distribute it to front-line fighters.

I realize guerilla warfare entails a problem where you need to be sufficient to operate without massive public support. But a guerilla can't operate with a Coleman stove on his back. A guerilla can't operate with fifteen pounds of rice. A guerilla combat cell can't effectively hunt partridges and still be a fighting force, first.

Therefore, we need to designate some people to be providers of support services. We may not think much of the retired Vietnam vet who's got a limp. We may not dream of asking him to shoulder a Mauser and fight for his life. But he can still run a kitchen and arrange logistics for our fighting men.

The average guerilla needs this kind of support. We can't imagine that we'll live on indefinitely supported public willpower.

CK