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the T.S.E. may strike with fury at any point. It is truly a case of David (T.I.E.) and Golliath (T.S.E.) Effective public relations are critical to both parties. Each side attempts to minimize the public's perceptions of the accomplishments of the other and tries to manage the messages reported by the press. As the T.S.E. has the benefit of the conventional levers of power, the T.I.E. must develop ever more daring scenarios in the hope of forcing bad news to be reported in the home country of the T.S.E.

American forces have no living experience of engaging a technologically superior force, so our preparations, strategies and tactics have the limitations of our biases. Officially, acknowledging no weaknesses or shortcomings is part of the mentality of the dominating T.S.E. Thus, the battlefield knows no real limits and it involves fighting by proxy, almost as if it were shadow warfare. Since the T.I.E. has obvious disadvantages, it feels justified in use of civilians as safety shields and as cannon fodder. The T.S.E. response is to claim it also need not follow international rules of warfare, since the opposition doesn't. However, this "gloves off" treatment means the T.S.E. is subject to being accused of war crimes, as it has lost the moral high ground.

Ultimately, the reactions of both the T.I.E. and the T.S.E. are subject to societal expectations. The degree to which the T.I.E. is able to gain public support for their agenda is limited by the ability of the T.I.E. convince the public that its goals are in common. That requires that the T.S.E. be demonized in the eyes of the local populace. Atrocities are blamed on the enemy by both sides. All acts of violence are subject to interpretation, where one side is technologically superior. It is the staying power of the victor which ultimately causes one side to win and another to lose. The support of the public cannot be overlooked in any armed conflict.

Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.
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