The REAL World of Warcraft

Posted on WofW at PCForum and later thinking/conversations.
Looney Dunes: Something on my mind ...

Then I read The Doc Searls Weblog : Monday, March 27, 2006 entries on Iraq
Didn't get to all the links, but thoughtful
Here's some more...

James F. Dunnigan.
Author and military historian.
Use to be publisher of Strategy & Tactics
Military board games that I subscribed to back in the 70's

The following led to an "Ah-Ha" moment for me
S&T led to Dungeons and Dragons which led to Worlds of Warcraft.
Full circle.

About S&T: A Quick History

"Strategy & Tactics was originally founded in 1967 by Jim Dunnigan. In its original format, it did not include a game in each issue but focused on existing wargames, design material for games, and hobby news and information. At issue #19, Dunnigan formed Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) and began putting games in the magazine. The decade of the 1970's was dominated by SPI games and Strategy & Tactics magazine became the hobby flagship. Unfortunately, the transition from a direct mail order to a distribution model, rapidly rising component costs, and increasing competition combined to sink SPI. SPI declared bankruptcy shortly after issue #89 was published, and TSR, the company made famous by Dungeons and Dragons, took over as the largest creditor. TSR was not known for their wargames, and though they tried to develop a wargame line and continued publishing Strategy & Tactics from #90-#110, they eventually choose to sell off their SPI assets. Strategy & Tactics was purchased by World Wide Wargames (3W) and, later, most of the SPI box game titles were purchased by Decision Games. 3W published Strategy & Tactics from #111 to #139 and then sold it to Decision Games.

Jim later wrote books on "How to Make War" which debunked many weapons and systems
(quite simply ... stuff doesn't work as advertised)
Now he has a website: strategypage.com

Some of Jim's stuff not in mainstream press: call it the Real World of Warcraft
Lessions of Fallujah

Settling Scores vs Civil War

Prospects of change in the Arab World

Note : I ignore most of the ads ...

Subscription site ... but VERY good
StratFor
My contacts in NY say it's followed on the street.

Articles on how we are in "end game" talks with Iran over future of Iraq.
They (Iranians) are pleased that we took out Saddam, Nuke issue is saber rattling, there will be some sort of arrangement.

3/16/06:
"The United States announced March 16 that it is ready to talk to Iran about Iraq. This followed a statement from Tehran that it was ready to engage in a dialogue with Washington on Baghdad. These statements show both sides have agreed to take their back-channel dealings on the issue to the public sphere as a means of achieving their mutual interests in Iraq. This unprecedented move will pave the way for future U.S.-Iranian discussions."

and
3/21/06
"All wars end in negotiations. Clearly, the United States and Iran have been talking quietly for a long time. They now have decided it is time to make their talks public. That decision by itself indicates how seriously they both take these conversations now."

Administration may well have played it's hand poorly, but I suspect that it's winning... there are more pieces to this puzzle that the daily press gets into.

Islam/Energy/East Asia (China)/South Asia (India)
3D game of chess.
Wheels within wheels.

Other links:
Saw Christopher Hitchens on ABC: he'd coined the term IslamoFacists.
Author of "The Long Short War" and takes it back to Carter Admin OK of Saddam's invasion of Iran.
Trotskyite turned NeoCon ...HitchensWeb
wikipedia bio

Fukuyama's change of heart
NYTimes
wikipedia bio