Gen. Sherman's 'Disproportionate Response'

By Jerome J. Schmitt

Reviled in the South to this day as a terrorist, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman decided that the only way to end the protracted armed conflict of the American Civil War and terminate the rebellious, racist, slave-regime in the south was to bring the war home to the civilian population of the Confederacy. Defying conventional military wisdom, he turned his back on the Confederate field armies, captured and burned Atlanta, and commenced his "March to the Sea". According to Wikepedia"

He and U.S. Army commander, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, believed that the Civil War would end only if the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken. Sherman therefore applied the principles of scorched earth, ordering his troops to burn crops, kill livestock, consume supplies, and destroy civilian infrastructure along their path."

While the Union Army respected the sanctity of private homes, all public buildings and infrastructure including railroads were subject to complete destruction. Needless to say, resistance was not tolerated. Millions of slaves were freed in the wake of his march.

Recognizing that it was not in their economic interest to continue the fight, civilian political support for the Confederacy began a precipitous collapse and the war soon ended. Despite rebellious pledges that the "South Would Rise Again", peace and prosperity has lasted 144 years.

Misguided attempts to distinguish Hamas Jihadists from the rest of the Palestinian population show ignorance of the political problem in war that was understood and solved by Sherman and Grant. Unfortunately, the "International Community" continues to reinforce the recalcitrant violence of the Palestinians by rewarding it with "humanitarian aid". Until the Palestinian civilian population rejects the war as not being in their interest, the conflict will continue as it has for 60 years.