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more about #deathstar Klebert L. Hall: "What can Star Wars teach us about war?" Very little, it was a kiddy-story. "Why didn't the Rebel Alliance pursue a strategy of insurgency in their ... more » CodenameV: these people are self-obsessed idiots who never paid attention to Star Wars: ALL, *ALL* of the Expanded Universe novels since the mid-1990's have mad... more » hellamike: How about the type of fighting waged in the prequels--two factions running at each other on a flat plain in 18th-century style lines. It always bothe... more » Counterglow: I'd have to say that the development of the Death Star implies that an insurgency was in progress, though the story doesn't discuss it. What better r... more » Roklimber: Some people do indeed have way way way too much time in their hands. more » J_Frank_Parnell: 12 Bothans died to bring us this information. more » Canoehead: Of course, you can also look at this as a clash between factions of the ruling elite of the Old Republic - Leia, Mon Mothma, Gen Madine - not exactly ... more » twophrasebark: The Empire actually fell victim to Palpatine's theories of deregulation and privatization. By outsourcing a great deal of labor to the clones and al... more » ManchuCandidate: Come on! If we looked at it through a COIN prisim then in what people's revolution would ever make a teenage boy who still had Bantha Fodder between ... more » Grey_Area: You Rebel scum. more » j.blo: Lucky? LUCKY? It's not a big deal. I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home. more » ThisDudeRufus: Gah, no. The Rebels only attacked the first Death Star because it was bearing right down on it's home base. They attacked the second because they thou... more » Ghost_in_the_Machine: Low intensity (insurgency) and high intensity (conventional) conflict are not mutually exclusive. There were numerous partisan activities in occupied... more » cletar: Why didn't Robert E Lee pursue a strategy of insurgency, instead of making a regular old army with uniforms and battles and whatnot? The Rebellion w... more » Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: "Somewhere, George Lucas is shaking his head and thinking to himself that just meant to make a good movie..." He's been doing that a lot since Phant... more » quetzilla: Oh, and if you dip into the Expanded Universe, you'll find out that on a planetary level, the Rebels DID use insurgency-like tactics. In fact that si... more » quetzilla: The best thing about this post is the ackbar poster. I want that for my room. more » Rumtum: Actually, the Alliance was not trusting to "luck," but to its Star Wars avatar, The Force, which is kind of "Focused Luck." Sure, Luke bullseyed wompr... more » EBone: I doubt that there were only two battles by the Rebels, both against the Death Stars. I imagine there were many battles over the course of two decades... more » Pants McCracky: Yglesias has it right. "Real-world" insurgency tactics only work in one real world -- our own. Imagine a world in which one superpower, say the U.S., ... more » -
#starterrorists
Did Leia Understand How To Win The (Star) War?
What can Star Wars teach us about war? Political bloggers can't help but look at the original trilogy through the lens of real-world counter insurgency tactics, leading them to wonder if the Rebel Alliance was fighting the wrong battles. More » -
#powergenerators
Who Has The Biggest Power Generator In Space?
It takes a lot of energy to zip around the stars standing akimbo in your rolled-down boots. So the best battlecruisers and starships have really powerful energy sources. But what's the most powerful spaceship or station, in terms of energy output? This isn't just an idle question, because we'll need to know which fictional technology to aim for, when we finally conquer interstellar space. Click through for our ranking of the least and most powerful spacecraft. (Hint: It's not the Death Star!) More » -
#hightechlairs
Top Five High-Tech Lairs of Evil Masterminds (OK, a Few Good Masterminds Too)
If you're an evil genius or a superhero with things to hide, then you've probably thought about investing some serious dough in a secret lair. But with real estate prices being what they are these days, and the pesky need to kill the architects for hidden bases after they finish, you might want to get one of these classic lairs. Either that, or copycat away and make yours bigger and better. Check out the top five secret lairs in this edition of "evil mastermind cribs." More »
