johnmatrix84

johnmatrix84 t1_iy9b0u1 wrote

A big problem for the Chinese military is the fact that they are controlled by the authoritarian Communist Party. They have political officers whose job is to enforce loyalty to the Party and its ideology. One of the primary stated goals of the military is to keep the Party in power. Shit like this causes a significant reduction in combat readiness/effectiveness, due to time and effort that could've been used on improving the military instead being spent on ensuring compliance with the Party's political ideas and constant lying to cover your ass so the secret police don't make you disappear. Historical examples are abundant - the Soviet Union before, during and after WWII, Russia after the Cold War, Iraq during the Gulf War and the 2003 US invasion, etc.

I remember reading a report from an Iraqi officer who was in charge of a motor pool or something. They had a bunch of Humvee or Jeep-equivalent trucks, and most of them didn't work because they'd broken down and the Iraqis couldn't get spare parts for them. One of Saddam's sons was going to be conducting an inspection, so the officer made sure every vehicle looked clean and had a fresh coat of paint - to make it look like they were well-maintained. Saddam's son arrived for the inspection, and he wanted to start up one of the vehicles. The one he picked didn't run. The officer expected to be arrested, but instead Saddam's son told him to keep it quiet, since he'd already lied and told Saddam that the vehicles were all in perfect condition.

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