General John “Black Jack" Pershing: Trump se trompe

Donald Trump a référé au célèbre général dernièrement, le citant en exemple dans sa lutte au terrorisme. Non seulement l'histoire racontée par le Président américain ne tenait pas la route, mais l'auteur défend ici l'idée que le général n'aurait jamais présenté l'insurrection aux Philippines comme du terrorisme.

 "But by the standards of his age, Pershing was fairly enlightened. When he fought the Moros at what has gone down in history as the Battle of Bud Bagsak (in June of 1913), Pershing proved adept at implementing tactics that would dampen Philippine (and U.S.) casualties: He recruited local leaders to denounce the uprising, attempted to negotiate a political agreement with the rebels, then waited them out (which siphoned off their strength) before attacking. Despite this, Bud Bagsak resulted in the deaths of approximately 500 Moro tribesmen, and 13 Americans. “The fighting was the fiercest I have ever seen,” he later wrote. “They [the tribesmen] are absolutely fearless, and once committed to combat they count death as a mere incident.”

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/20/what-black-jack-pershing-can-teach-us-about-fighting-terrorists-215509