tonyirwin-58946

It is said that there's little more difficult or frustrating than trying to wage war with allies. ''There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them!'' Churchill said.

Britain ruled much of the world for a couple of centuries but by the 20th century had been bled almost white fighting global conflicts often very badly. Operation Market-Garden is a perfect example of bad British generalship combined with the miracle of American wartime production capability. Ryan captures failure after failure from mission concept to ignoring vital intelligence to the pure hubris of men who were never in danger of directly facing the consequences of their flawed concoctions. Take away the victories of Gen George Patton and the war in Africa,Sicily, Europe would have looked a lot different. As it was it was littered with other debacles such as depicted here. A reminder that men pay with their lives from bad leadership.

All too frequently combat-trained soldiers are sent to perform ill-conceived missions in distant lands with few clear cut rules of engagement...or rules so convoluted that it defies reality as to how accomplish the mission without getting wounded or killed. The military is at the mercy of its civilian commanders and too often serve as pawns in geo-political struggles where there are seldom clear rules to follow. And sometimes those civilian masters prove to be unworthy of the power they wield over life and death. It is easy to become cynical when one considers all the political forces at work. Particularly when all too frequently money is at the root of the issue. And politicians do not like to accept blame, even when justufued. They'll find a fall guy.

Plots, sub-plots, humour, dark humour, drama, anger, love, passion....post-WWII....a day in the life of a New York police detective squad room...quirky personalities and scenarios.....wise-cracks and poignant situations....direction, script, casting...all happening at the 21st Precinct.....the human condition represented various ways involving a wide range of stories...tough as nails one moment, achingly tender the next...in later years the inspiration for the brilliant sitcom Barney Miller...the exact template for a very successful TV program...and as an homage to the film, all happening in the squad room of 'the 'old One-Two'...the 12th Precinct.