Opinion: Use of 'Geronimo' a tribute to famed Apache warrior

Monday, May 9, 2011  

"Native American leaders are upset that Geronimo's name was used as code for Osama bin Laden. I respect their concern, but I don't think this particular reference is the insult tribal leaders think it is.

Quite the opposite, it sounds to me like a salute to the Apache warrior's leadership genius and his tribe's organizational success.

To understand why, do what they do at the supersecret U.S. Joint Special Operations Command that oversees Navy SEAL Team Six, the commandos who found bin Laden: Look past the obvious differences between Geronimo and bin Laden and examine what they shared in common.

Each was a charismatic, leader-by-example of a decentralized organizational structure that long-stymied much mightier and formally organized armies. The Apache style of organization — shared power, nimble execution, motivated by leaders who led by example more than by command — enabled Geronimo and earlier Apache leaders to hold off the mighty Spanish and United States armies for 200 years, long after the great Inca and Aztec civilizations fell."

Get the Story:
Clarence Page: What bin Laden, Geronimo shared (The Chicago Tribune 5/8)

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