comes readily to mind. Examples stillnabound. Polls on the air strike againstnLibya reveal that the “Yuppies” composednvirtually the only group to opposenthe raid. It will take more than anspirit of “democrahc capitalism” tonsave the United States and the West.nThe U.S. can produce the conservativenleaders it needs if its “naturalnaristocracy” can acquire values othernthan those of the stock market. Certainlynone of the sources of PresidentnReagan’s strength as a leader is hisnbackground as a cinema hero andnrancher rather than as a lawyer ornfinancier. For inspiration, one can alwaysnturn to biographies of great mennwho have exhibited proper values innthe past. In this quest, the BritishnEmpire is always an attractive place tonlook because of a shared cultural heritagenand the fact that Britain once heldnthe position of global responsibility tonwhich the U.S. is heir.nPhilip Warner is a Senior Lecturernat the Royal Military Academy atnSandhurst. Author of several previousnmilitary histories and biographies, henknows military life and its culture well.nHe has chosen for his subject England’snforemost soldier at the heightnof the Empire. Horatio Herbert Kitchenern(1850-1916) was the son of anprofessional soldier. Col. Henry HorationKitchener. Like many builders ofnthe Empire, Kitchener was born ofnEnglish parents living in Ireland. Hisnfamily was not wealthy, though thenColonel made a success of the bankruptnIrish estate he had bought from itsncreditors. The young Kitchener didnnot attend English public school, but anSwiss boarding school followed by thenRoyal Military Academy at Woolwichnwhere he became an engineer. Hisnexperiences as a student were thusnmore demanding than most. Henlearned to work from dawn to midnightnmastering details. He also acquiredna knack for learning foreignnlanguages.nHe was an observer with the FrenchnArmy during the Franco-Prussian Warnand with the Turks during the Russo-nTurkish War. He thus learned earlynthe folly of being unprepared for battie.nHe exhibited his courage in Palestinenby staring down a Druse mob andnhis ambition in Cyprus by manipulatingnhis superiors in an attempt to benposted to Egypt where he could seenmore action.nEgypt made his reputation. In 10nyears (1882-1892) he advanced from ancavalry lieutenant to commander innchief of the Egyptian Army with thenrank of major-general. He had advancednby talent rather than by moneynor influence. He was not very sociable,nbeing shy and puritanical. He consistentlynfailed in his attempts to find ansuitable wife. His one engagementnended when his fiancee died of typhoid.nAll his other proposals werenrejected (Warner dismisses the rumorsnthat Kitchener’s bachelorhood indicatednany homosexual tendencies). However,nas a military leader he was unsurpassed.nHe had a capacity tonunderstand the situations he confronted.nA reformer, he stressed the importancenof training and logistics andnexploited the advantages of the railroadnand the machine gun. He could trainnnative troops to levels of performancenfew had thought possible. He earnednthe tide “The Man Who Must BenObeyed,” but also earned the loyalty ofnhis troops by a willingness to endurentheir hardships on campaign.nHis greatest victory was Omdurmann(1898), in which his Anglo-Egyptiannforce of 26,000 men defeated successivenattacks by 100,000 Dervishes, killingn16,000 of the enemy at a loss ofnonly 48 of his own. This completed hisnsystematic reconquest of the Sudan tonavenge the death of Cen. CharlesnGordon, who had been massacred atnKhartoum in 1884 by the forces ofn”the Mahdi,” a religious fanaticn(Kitchener had served with the reliefnforce which failed to reach Gordon inntime). Omdurman was the site of thenMahdi’s tomb which Kitchener destroyed,nGordon’s nephew having thenhonor of throwing the Mahdi’s bonesninto the Nile. Kitchener kept the skullnas a trophy. This shocked the youngnWinston Churchill who was servingnwith the expedition. However, it wasnnot so unusual. Sir Reginald Wingate,nwho tracked down the Mahdi’s successor,nthe Khalifa, had the Khalifa’s skullnturned into a mug from which hendrank a toast on each anniversary ofnthe Omdurman victory. Wingate hadnbeen Kitchener’s intelligence officernand would become governor-generalnof the Sudan.nAfter Omdurman, Kitchener metnthe French expedition which had pen­nnnetrated to Fashoda to claim the southernnSudan. By deft diplomacy he defusedna situation which threatened warnbetween London and Paris. As a rewardnfor Omdurman, he was madenLord Kitchener of Khartoum and wasnvoted 30,000 pounds (about $1 millionnin today’s value) by Parliament.nHe was next sent to South Africa asnsecond in command to Lord Robertsnto reverse the early defeats of the BoernWar. Kitchener took command (1900)nafter Roberts had defeated the Boers innopen combat. Kitchener was left tondeal with the years of guerrilla warfarenthat followed. Again, he understoodnthe nature of the war. The Sudan hadnbeen won by long preparation leadingnto a decisive battle. South Africanwould be different. A war of attritionnconcluded by negotiation. The Dervishncult had to be destroyed, the Boersnhad to be assimilated. Kitchener relocatednthe Boer population, built a webnof 8,000 blockhouses, and sent mobflencolumns on “search and destroy” operations.nHe earned the respect of thentough Boer leaders. This mixed withngenerous terms led eventually to thenwar’s end.nThough a national hero, he wasndisliked by the press and by the Liberals.nThe feeling was mutual. Accordingnto Warner, “Kitchener regardednjournalists as detestable, a dangerousnliability to Intelligence, and despicablenas well.” Kitchener had little regard fornpoliticians but was a known supporternof the Conservative Party. He was anclose friend of the Tory leader LordnSalisbury. He felt that Gladstone andnthe Liberal anti-imperialists had dishonorednthemselves when they abandonednthe Sudan after Gordon’s death.n(The Sudan was retaken under Salisbury.)nKitchener was an imperialist whonbelieved that the expansion of Britishnpower was also the expansion of civilization.nHe had seen firsthand the corruptionnof native officials and the routinencruelty of backward cultures.nBefore the British arrived, the principalnproduct of the Sudan had beennslaves. The idea of returning suchnareas to “self-government” was immoral.nReferring to men like Kitchener,nWarner observes, “They did notnconsider whether they had a Godgivennright to rule territories occupiednby alien people; they merely consid-nMAY1987/29n