Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Only a small fraction of young men in Canada have ever fired a weapon in anger or been subjected to any sort of collective physical rigour. Bold comments made on a keyboard between slurps of ramen delivered by Skip the Dishes are well and good for our collective sense of defiance. But there’s a world of difference between that and the brutal, harrowing business of insurgency warfare.
Countries that fight sustained resistance against occupation have more than just a defiant attitude. They have lots of weapons, lots of people who know how to use them, and a tradition of conscription or collective training.
Anyone serious about fighting off an American invasion (which remains a remote possibility) should be campaigning for universal military service of the sort standard in Europe during the Cold War: 12-24 months of mandatory enrolment served between the age of 18 and 22, and periodic month-long refresher enrolment by older men.
That’s what a country serious about fighting off foreign invasion would do. For all the defiance Canadians are feeling today, count me as skeptical that mandatory military service would be welcomed by the electorate.
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You aren't wrong. But insurgency warfare isn't "fighting off foreign invasion".
Insurgency is decentralized independent cells of like-thinkers who harass and torment the occupying force using various means in hopes of demoralizing them. Because the cells are decentralized, and not all the cells will believe in the same goals, the insurgency becomes unpredictable.
Some insurgents will be violent. Some will merely be disobedient to the occupying force. And lots of in-between.