Count Coup
The natives on the great plains of North America had a curious tradition which seemingly defies logic; a strange, primal demonstration of bravery and defiance.
Warriors would try, either openly or covertly, to approach and to touch an enemy warrior, either with a hand or a stick, then escape without harm. The touch was non-violent but the intention was defiance and a demonstration of a lack of fear. There was significant risk of injury or death should the one being touched react violently... as often happened. The point was to demonstrate you could get close enough to harm another warrior and deliberately did not harm him.
The touch was considered provocative and, some suggest, stole away the other’s fighting spirit and mocked him. Indeed, another form of this tradition was to actually steal something material from an enemy; usually a preferred weapon or anything uniquely identifiable.
The French, in witnessing this tradition, called it “count coup” or, literally translated, “counting strikes”. Many of you may have heard the expression "counting coup" before and not have realized what that entailed.
Demonstrations of bravery were very important in primitive cultures for establishing one’s status within the tribe. A warrior who was successful at counting coup against his enemies was well regarded in his tribe and often rewarded by adding feathers to his headdress or notches to his walking staff.
So what does all of this have to do with modern life and geo-political situations? Well, read this BBC news story and you tell me... do you think these guys gained a few feathers or notches?
-Mac
Iran boats 'threatened US ships'
Five Iranian speedboats harassed three US navy ships at the weekend, approaching them and radioing a threat to blow them up, US officials say.
The incident happened in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route. The US said their ships were about to open fire when the Iranian boats withdrew.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the Iranian action "provocative and dangerous".
Iran played down the event, describing it as an "ordinary occurrence".
"This... happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
Official media also reported the US statement about Iran's allegedly threatening behaviour with scepticism, implying that Washington was exaggerating the incident.
'Serious provocation'
The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came within about 200m of the US vessels, Pentagon officials said.
"I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," the Iranians said in a radio transmission, according to US officials.
The Iranian boats were operating at "distances and speeds that showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
He said at least some of the boats were visibly armed. At one point the speedboats dropped floating "box-like objects", the US navy commander in the region, Vice Adm Kevin Cosgriff said.
US sailors assumed battle stations and the captain on one of the ships was about to order an attack when the Iranian boats turned away, US officials said.
The confrontation, which occurred at about 0400 local time on Sunday or late on Saturday in Washington, lasted about 20 minutes, according to the US.
The Pentagon has insisted that the three US vessels - identified as navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham - were in international waters.
[....]
Warriors would try, either openly or covertly, to approach and to touch an enemy warrior, either with a hand or a stick, then escape without harm. The touch was non-violent but the intention was defiance and a demonstration of a lack of fear. There was significant risk of injury or death should the one being touched react violently... as often happened. The point was to demonstrate you could get close enough to harm another warrior and deliberately did not harm him.
The touch was considered provocative and, some suggest, stole away the other’s fighting spirit and mocked him. Indeed, another form of this tradition was to actually steal something material from an enemy; usually a preferred weapon or anything uniquely identifiable.
The French, in witnessing this tradition, called it “count coup” or, literally translated, “counting strikes”. Many of you may have heard the expression "counting coup" before and not have realized what that entailed.
Demonstrations of bravery were very important in primitive cultures for establishing one’s status within the tribe. A warrior who was successful at counting coup against his enemies was well regarded in his tribe and often rewarded by adding feathers to his headdress or notches to his walking staff.
So what does all of this have to do with modern life and geo-political situations? Well, read this BBC news story and you tell me... do you think these guys gained a few feathers or notches?
-Mac
Iran boats 'threatened US ships'
Five Iranian speedboats harassed three US navy ships at the weekend, approaching them and radioing a threat to blow them up, US officials say.
The incident happened in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route. The US said their ships were about to open fire when the Iranian boats withdrew.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the Iranian action "provocative and dangerous".
Iran played down the event, describing it as an "ordinary occurrence".
"This... happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
Official media also reported the US statement about Iran's allegedly threatening behaviour with scepticism, implying that Washington was exaggerating the incident.
'Serious provocation'
The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came within about 200m of the US vessels, Pentagon officials said.
"I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," the Iranians said in a radio transmission, according to US officials.
The Iranian boats were operating at "distances and speeds that showed reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
He said at least some of the boats were visibly armed. At one point the speedboats dropped floating "box-like objects", the US navy commander in the region, Vice Adm Kevin Cosgriff said.
US sailors assumed battle stations and the captain on one of the ships was about to order an attack when the Iranian boats turned away, US officials said.
The confrontation, which occurred at about 0400 local time on Sunday or late on Saturday in Washington, lasted about 20 minutes, according to the US.
The Pentagon has insisted that the three US vessels - identified as navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham - were in international waters.
[....]
Labels: count coup, Iran, US
posted by Mac at 10:14 PM
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