My Life

My Life - Oswald MosleyIf we face this question realistically, the practical effect of giving a guarantee todefend India by force of arms is to take an unnecessary risk of world war. Theinvasion of India by Russian or Chinese armies is an unlikely event, but if it occurred,would the British people be disposed to honour a guarantee to hold India in the onlyway it could be defended, with nuclear weapons? We should be faced either withanother humiliating withdrawal which dishonoured our pledged word or with a worldnuclear war. However, the communist powers have other and better means of takingIndia or any other Asian country than by an open act of military aggression. Why riskyour neck climbing a tall tree to get an apple which can be shaken down into yourhands? The communist method in Asia is to use the technique of which they are pastmasters, a combination of political agitation with street and village violence. WillAmerica or Britain use nuclear weapons to overthrow an elected communistgovernment in Delhi? If not, they should stop talking nonsense about nuclearguarantees, and start assisting the Indians to develop the political techniques whichcan meet and defeat the communists on their own ground. We have done it, and wecan do it again in Europe, but in Asia it must be done by Asians; not by Europeanbombs, but by Asian wit and will.America and Europe are only now learning in the hard way the elementary facts ofmodern political struggle. It is above all a battle of ideas and, as I pointed out longago, it is impossible to enter that struggle effectively without an idea. I contended inThe European Situation (1950) that these issues in the future would be decided not byregular military forces but by political guerrillas fighting for an idea. The man whowon the battle would be half soldier and half politician because his primary objectivemust be winning the support of the civilian population. He would emerge from thedark to strike and then retire to the protecting shadows; the sympathy and sustenanceof the civilian population would ensure his victory. It was what happened inelementary form during my experience of the Irish guerilla fighting, and the memoryremained with me as a useful lesson years later in considering larger spheres. Theresistance of guerillas to the strength of America in Vietnam has proved the ability ofsuch a method to baffle regular armies even when supported by a completelydominant air force. This American tragedy proves to the hilt the case I have urgedsince 1950; it will now remain for united Europe to repair the damage, and in themeantime to do what it can to extricate a friend with the minimum possible loss froma situation he should never have entered.Nuclear paralysisThe new guerrilla technique, baffling even the overwhelming power of America, waseasily foreseeable, and was described in detail in my European Situation (1950). Itcan and will be applied with far more effect in ever wider regions if we continuesimply to rely on the orthodox military tradition. The soldier alone is insufficient, hemust be preceded and accompanied by a political idea and those skilled in its use. Theday of the man who is half soldier and half politician has arrived. This fact begins tobe understood in jungle warfare as a result of the American experience in Vietnam,but the further and more important fact does not yet appear to be grasped: urbanisedguerrilla warfare can be decisive in future war between great or lesser powers. Thepolitical soldier who wins the support of the civilian population, and who is armedwith the new light weapons science will provide, can defeat even great powers armedwith nuclear weapons which cannot be used against an enemy interwoven with397 of 424