Gary Brecher
Encyclopedia
Gary Brecher is the author of The War Nerd, a twice-monthly column discussing current wars and other military conflicts, published in the eXile
. A collection of his columns was published by Soft Skull Press
in June 2008 (ISBN 0979663687).
Brecher analyzes military strategy
, tactics
, and contexts of ongoing and past conflicts. While Brecher lacks military experience or formal training in war, he has credited himself as self-educated out of a personal, lifelong obsession with war
fare. He has also described himself as a fat slob who spends approximately eight hours a day on the internet searching for war news. Brecher describes himself as a "war nerd
".
Brecher has participated in radio interviews including a April 5, 2008 interview by Chuck Mertz on the Evanston/Chicago radio station WNUR
and a May 25, 2008 interview by Steve Paulson on Wisconsin Public Radio .
source of information about Brecher is an email interview with him conducted by Steve Sailer
and published by United Press International
. The image at the top of each War Nerd column supposedly representing Brecher is actually that of Roger Edvardsen of the Norwegian rhythm & blues band Ehem.
Brecher claims to have been born in 1965 and to have attended community college
after high school, dropping out before graduating. He claims to be employed as a data entry clerk
in Fresno, California
and deeply unsatisfied with his job. Around that time he met Mark Ames
, editor of the Moscow
-based, English language
newspaper the eXile
, who offered Brecher a column. He wrote in his first eXile column that life in Fresno is a "death sentence" and that he spends 15 hours a day in front of a computer ("6 or 7 hours entering civilian numbers for the paycheck and the rest surfing the war news"). The War Nerd has since established a large following of its own, and Brecher's work is a regular subject in the eXile's letters to editor.
No one outside of the eXile has proven any direct interaction with Gary Brecher. Brecher's reclusive nature and the lack of information about him have raised speculation (e.g. during his email interview with Sailer) that Brecher is a pseudonym for another eXile contributor. The use of invented characters is not unprecedented for the eXile.
A Buffalo Beast review of eXile editor John Dolan
's novel "Pleasant Hell" states that "a faithful eXile reader [would] have to be as dense as young John Dolan not to realize you’re reading about the birth of 'Gary Brecher' - nome [sic] de guerre of the famed 'War Nerd'." In the memoir, Dolan writes of obsessively studying military history and Jane's manuals while binging on junk food in the basement of a UC Berkeley library building in the mid-seventies. In one War Nerd column, Brecher writes, "I used to spend every free hour, back before there was an internet, going over those big heavy reference books in the library: Jane's Tanks, Jane's Missile Systems, Jane's Combat Vehicles." Also, one should note that in an 2001 eXile article, "Cleanse the World", John Dolan openly admits being a 'war-nerd': "Oh, my poor naive war-nerd brothers, how could you ever have dreamed that Bush...".
On June 25, 2008, the following revelation is made on citypaper. in the course of a review of the War Nerd book: But the War Nerd is, in fact, neither of those things. He is not even Gary Brecher! Brecher is the creation of John Dolan, a poet, novelist, lecturer in English at the University of Victoria, and The eXile co-editor. That's very exciting news for the War Nerd's regular readers: The columns you've been dissecting and debating for the last six years were written by an English professor who writes poetry!
On November 2, 2010, in an interview with Scott Horton for Antiwar Radio
, John Dolan spoke for the first time about his Gary Brecher alter-ego which he described as being strongly based on his younger self. During the interview he described Gary Brecher "as a more honest version of who I really am".
. In each installment, Brecher offers his idiosyncratic analyses of armed conflict from a military, political, or rarely, social standpoint. In his first eXile column, Brecher declared that The War Nerd was to be "a column on how all the wars are going, kind of a war reviewer." He has acknowledged an aesthetic or perhaps even fetishistic
pleasure in the study, observation, and intimate knowledge of armed conflict (again from his first column):
Brecher describes himself as a Nationalist "who just wants America to kick ass." While typically enjoying war as a spectator, Brecher has been highly critical of the foreign policy
of the Bush administration
. One basis of his critique has been that Bush has gone to war in Iraq
and Afghanistan
, and possibly planned for war in Iran
and North Korea
, without publicly defining a sound strategy or acknowledging the ruthlessness required for victory.
Following publication of Brecher's article "Victor Hanson
: Portrait of an American Traitor", Hanson responded with an article accusing Brecher of being an anarchist In the September 9, 2005 of the eXile, the editors announced that the War Nerd would be suspended without pay for one issue as a result of these accusations. It is doubtful that this was a serious reprimand. Nonetheless, the subsequent issue of the eXile did not contain Brecher's regular column. Another similarly themed Brecher article, 'It’s All Greek to Victor Davis Hanson
', appeared in the December 19, 2005 issue of the American Conservative.
On June 24, 2006, Newsday
columnist James Pinkerton
appeared on Fox News and referenced Gary Brecher's analysis of the alleged Haditha massacre
, in which he took the view that, in any war, Haditha-like events are to a great degree unavoidable, as a position held by a distinct "minority" of commentators, but nevertheless "correct". In that column, Brecher stated that massacres like Haditha were a staple of counter-insurgency warfare, but doubted that this particular instance would be of any use to the effort, characterising it as 'too little or too much'.
Brecher has summarized his view of modern warfare as follows:
The eXile
The eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
. A collection of his columns was published by Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
in June 2008 (ISBN 0979663687).
Brecher analyzes military strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
, tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
, and contexts of ongoing and past conflicts. While Brecher lacks military experience or formal training in war, he has credited himself as self-educated out of a personal, lifelong obsession with war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
fare. He has also described himself as a fat slob who spends approximately eight hours a day on the internet searching for war news. Brecher describes himself as a "war nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
".
Brecher has participated in radio interviews including a April 5, 2008 interview by Chuck Mertz on the Evanston/Chicago radio station WNUR
WNUR
WNUR-FM is a 7200 watt radio station based in Evanston, Illinois that broadcasts to Chicago and its northern suburbs. Northwestern University owns the station's FCC license.-History:...
and a May 25, 2008 interview by Steve Paulson on Wisconsin Public Radio .
Biography
Other than the Steve Paulson interview, the only non-eXileThe eXile
The eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
source of information about Brecher is an email interview with him conducted by Steve Sailer
Steve Sailer
Steven Ernest Sailer is an American journalist and movie critic for The American Conservative, a blogger, a VDARE.com columnist, and a former correspondent for UPI. He writes about race relations, gender issues, politics, immigration, IQ, genetics, movies, and sports.-Personal life:Sailer grew up...
and published by United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
. The image at the top of each War Nerd column supposedly representing Brecher is actually that of Roger Edvardsen of the Norwegian rhythm & blues band Ehem.
Brecher claims to have been born in 1965 and to have attended community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
after high school, dropping out before graduating. He claims to be employed as a data entry clerk
Data entry clerk
A data entry clerk, sometimes called a typist, is a member of staff employed to type data into a database using a keyboard. The keyboards used can often have specialist keys and multiple colours to help them in the task and speed up the work.-Examples:...
in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
and deeply unsatisfied with his job. Around that time he met Mark Ames
Mark Ames
Mark Ames is a writer known for his work as a Moscow-based expatriate American journalist and editor. He is the founding editor of the satirical biweekly the eXile in Moscow, to which he regularly contributed before he returned to America...
, editor of the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
-based, English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspaper the eXile
The eXile
The eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
, who offered Brecher a column. He wrote in his first eXile column that life in Fresno is a "death sentence" and that he spends 15 hours a day in front of a computer ("6 or 7 hours entering civilian numbers for the paycheck and the rest surfing the war news"). The War Nerd has since established a large following of its own, and Brecher's work is a regular subject in the eXile's letters to editor.
No one outside of the eXile has proven any direct interaction with Gary Brecher. Brecher's reclusive nature and the lack of information about him have raised speculation (e.g. during his email interview with Sailer) that Brecher is a pseudonym for another eXile contributor. The use of invented characters is not unprecedented for the eXile.
A Buffalo Beast review of eXile editor John Dolan
John Dolan (writer)
John Carrol Dolan is an American poet, author and essayist. He currently writes for and co-edits the eXile, an English-language paper founded and formerly based in Moscow, Russia, and now based online in California. He was recently laid off from the University of Victoria, British...
's novel "Pleasant Hell" states that "a faithful eXile reader [would] have to be as dense as young John Dolan not to realize you’re reading about the birth of 'Gary Brecher' - nome [sic] de guerre of the famed 'War Nerd'." In the memoir, Dolan writes of obsessively studying military history and Jane's manuals while binging on junk food in the basement of a UC Berkeley library building in the mid-seventies. In one War Nerd column, Brecher writes, "I used to spend every free hour, back before there was an internet, going over those big heavy reference books in the library: Jane's Tanks, Jane's Missile Systems, Jane's Combat Vehicles." Also, one should note that in an 2001 eXile article, "Cleanse the World", John Dolan openly admits being a 'war-nerd': "Oh, my poor naive war-nerd brothers, how could you ever have dreamed that Bush...".
On June 25, 2008, the following revelation is made on citypaper. in the course of a review of the War Nerd book: But the War Nerd is, in fact, neither of those things. He is not even Gary Brecher! Brecher is the creation of John Dolan, a poet, novelist, lecturer in English at the University of Victoria, and The eXile co-editor. That's very exciting news for the War Nerd's regular readers: The columns you've been dissecting and debating for the last six years were written by an English professor who writes poetry!
On November 2, 2010, in an interview with Scott Horton for Antiwar Radio
Antiwar.com
Antiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
, John Dolan spoke for the first time about his Gary Brecher alter-ego which he described as being strongly based on his younger self. During the interview he described Gary Brecher "as a more honest version of who I really am".
War Nerd writings
Every two to five weeks, Brecher publishes his The War Nerd column in eXileThe eXile
The eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
. In each installment, Brecher offers his idiosyncratic analyses of armed conflict from a military, political, or rarely, social standpoint. In his first eXile column, Brecher declared that The War Nerd was to be "a column on how all the wars are going, kind of a war reviewer." He has acknowledged an aesthetic or perhaps even fetishistic
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
pleasure in the study, observation, and intimate knowledge of armed conflict (again from his first column):
- "American peace truly sucks (That's what I live in and work in: American peace. Fresno. Townhouses in a dry riverbed. Scrub acreage with fancy British names. America the hot and stupid)."
- "That's why we need a war now and then. You can drain your dick at every bondage site on the web, but you can't really drain your head there, it takes something bigger like a decent war and some of those guncamera shots. I figure about one a year. Which is why this was already a good year."
Brecher describes himself as a Nationalist "who just wants America to kick ass." While typically enjoying war as a spectator, Brecher has been highly critical of the foreign policy
Foreign relations of the United States
The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. The United States federal statutes relating to foreign relations can be found in Title 22 of the United States Code.-Pacific:-Americas:-Caribbean:...
of the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
. One basis of his critique has been that Bush has gone to war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and possibly planned for war in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, without publicly defining a sound strategy or acknowledging the ruthlessness required for victory.
Following publication of Brecher's article "Victor Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
: Portrait of an American Traitor", Hanson responded with an article accusing Brecher of being an anarchist In the September 9, 2005 of the eXile, the editors announced that the War Nerd would be suspended without pay for one issue as a result of these accusations. It is doubtful that this was a serious reprimand. Nonetheless, the subsequent issue of the eXile did not contain Brecher's regular column. Another similarly themed Brecher article, 'It’s All Greek to Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
', appeared in the December 19, 2005 issue of the American Conservative.
On June 24, 2006, Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
columnist James Pinkerton
James Pinkerton
James Pinkerton is a columnist, author, and political analyst. A graduate of Peter Vanleslie High School and Stanford University, he served on the White House staff under both Ronald Reagan and George H.W...
appeared on Fox News and referenced Gary Brecher's analysis of the alleged Haditha massacre
Haditha killings
The Haditha killings refers to the incident where 24 Iraqi men, women and children were killed by a group of United States Marines on November 19, 2005 in Haditha, a city in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar. At least 15 of those killed were civilians...
, in which he took the view that, in any war, Haditha-like events are to a great degree unavoidable, as a position held by a distinct "minority" of commentators, but nevertheless "correct". In that column, Brecher stated that massacres like Haditha were a staple of counter-insurgency warfare, but doubted that this particular instance would be of any use to the effort, characterising it as 'too little or too much'.
Brecher has summarized his view of modern warfare as follows:
- Most wars are asymmetrical / irregular.
- In these wars, the guerrillas / irregulars / insurgents do NOT aim for military victory.
- You can NOT defeat these groups by killing lots of their members. In fact, they want you to do that.
- Hi-tech weaponry is mostly useless in these wars.
- "Hearts and Minds," meaning propaganda and morale, are more important than military superiority.
- Most people are not rational, they are TRIBAL: "my gang yay, your gang boo!" It really is that simple. The rest is cosmetics.
See also
- Personages
- Mark AmesMark AmesMark Ames is a writer known for his work as a Moscow-based expatriate American journalist and editor. He is the founding editor of the satirical biweekly the eXile in Moscow, to which he regularly contributed before he returned to America...
- John DolanJohn Dolan (writer)John Carrol Dolan is an American poet, author and essayist. He currently writes for and co-edits the eXile, an English-language paper founded and formerly based in Moscow, Russia, and now based online in California. He was recently laid off from the University of Victoria, British...
- Denis SalnikovDenis SalnikovDenis Salnikov is a former byline appearing on the Club Review of the eXile, an English-language Moscow newspaper. According to a LiveJournal post, Salnikov is a "fictional personage"....
- Mark Ames
- Other related
- The eXileThe eXileThe eXile was a Moscow-based English-language biweekly free tabloid newspaper, aimed at the city's expatriate community, which combined outrageous, sometimes satirical, content with investigative reporting...
- Fresno, CaliforniaFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
- MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- The eXile
External links
- Long audio interview of Brecher (at 1:16:45 into the podcast)
- Archive of Brecher's columns #1
- Archive of Brecher's columns # 2
- The Insurgency: Neighborhood Watch, an article of Brecher's appearing on AlterNetAlterNetAlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
. - It’s All Greek to Victor Davis Hanson, an article of Brecher's appearing on The American ConservativeThe American ConservativeThe American Conservative is a monthly U.S. opinion magazine published by Ron Unz. Its first editor was Scott McConnell, his successors being Kara Hopkins and the present incumbent, Daniel McCarthy....
. - An interview with Gary Brecher on The Marketplace of Ideas.