Controversy & Clarity #11--Ben Connable
30 snips
May 19, 2023 
In this conversation, Ben Connable, a retired Marine intelligence officer and expert on modern combat, discusses his forthcoming book that clarifies the character of modern ground warfare. He critiques the dramatic narrative surrounding technological changes like drones, arguing they are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Ben also shares insights from his research on the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale and lessons from the Syrian Civil War about urban combat. He emphasizes the importance of diverse sources in military education and warns against overestimating adversaries due to flawed analyses.
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Publish The Database To Enable Follow-On Work
- Share and open your coded database so others can add cases and improve representativeness.
- Connable will publish his Excel dataset so researchers can extend it beyond 2022 and refine analyses.
Teach Rate Of Change, Not Just Dramatic Cases
- Teach the rate and meaning of historical change and emphasize linear, evidence-based context in PME.
- Connable urges PME to avoid overreacting to dramatic single cases like Ethiopia or Nagorno-Karabakh.
Defining 'Will To Fight' For Analysis
- 'Will to fight' lacked definition and measurable practice, so RAND developed a usable definition and model.
- Connable explains the will to fight as 'the disposition and decision to fight, act, or persevere as needed.'