Mr. Kah, I read your analysis of Jammeh's decision-making / leadership paradigm with some reservation. I would admit that your conclusions are alsolutely wrong. Your description of the military command structure is correct, and there is a contingent and absolutely necessary reason for the vertical structure. And I believe you are ignorant of how the military institution works. Your claim that "developing a sense of rationality is unknown in the armed forces"- is totally absurd. If this was the case, the number one diplomat of the Free World, General Colin Powell who served his entire life in the military could not have the respect of the entire world, and not even mentioning the public eagerness for him to run for the presidency. I hope this one illustrious example will suffice. Imagine for a second what it takes to fight a battle against an enemy determined to end your way of life- it is the most physically and intellectually demanding than any other life experience, and yes it takes a special kind of a human being to accomplish that mission- a person disciplined mentally, emotionally and physically- a kind of psychological conditioning that only the military can provide in society. President Jammeh has his own unique style of leadership/decision- making( and all of us do have our own idiosyncracies), yet I will state that your assertions on Jammeh's "commandism" is an overstretch. I have worked with him, and I can testify to that. ===== Ebou Jallow Georgetown University Washington, DC __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Find the one for you at Yahoo! Personals http://personals.yahoo.com <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>