So, American forces drew a bad hand with unprecedented sandstorms in a critical stage of the war. Bad weather will eventually yield to good. But unfortunately for those with their lives on the line in the deserts and swamps of Iraq, the U.S. forces are up against more than the weather. They have been directed into battle against two fundamental laws of human nature.
Law number one: External attack creates internal unity.
Remember the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915? Pearl Harbor in 1941? Americans were sharply divided prior to both world wars. But from the moment of attack, opponents cast aside their differences in defense of the homeland. Remember how September 11 united us? The greater the threat from the outside, the more those under attack are prepared to ignore previous differences among themselves.
Law number two: Identity trumps freedom when it comes to loyalties.
The need to be recognized and respected as a people is even stronger than the longing to be free. The Nazis lost World War II for ignoring this law. After decades of Stalinist terror, Hitler calculated that Soviet citizens would rise up against their dictator the moment German troops invaded. Instead, Soviets fell in behind the brute who had already murdered millions of his own citizens. Rallying to Stalin