By Robert Farago on February 11, 2008

117img3bh.jpgIn his raucous yet rambling history of the American west, author Hampton Sides reveals the surprising fact that the Confederate Army didn't lose their Western campaign in glorious battle. According to Blood and Thunder, they lost their war in Apache Canyon, when a Union commander named John Milton Chivington stumbled upon his rival's supply train. Chivington's men rapelled down the canyon walls and overcame the camp's defenders. He then destroyed 80 wagons' worth of supplies and some 600 horses and mules. And that was that. It was only a matter of time before the largely Texan force limped home, starving, sick, beaten. Flash forward to Detroit. Experts say that Chrysler's Plastech debacle– a dispute which threatened to sink the entire company– is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. As many as two dozen key automotive suppliers could file for bankruptcy this year. Their demise is down to the domestics' belief that their competitive future depends on outsourcing parts-making to low-cost foreign countries. Maybe so. But only a fool abandons (or lightly guards) his vital supplies before securing a new supply. Think Detroit's ready for a U.S. supplier meltdown? Obviously not. More to the point, isn't there anyone in Detroit who knows how to fight?  

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