John Robb, author of the impressively expert Global Guerrillas blog, notices my post on closed OODA loops and comes up with a perfect gloss on the situation:
Another way of saying "breathing your own exhaust."
Now, it seems that the closed OODA loop -- the trap of having your orientation confirm and produce your observations and actions -- applies to more than just military organizations. I think it works at a psychological level, too, as might be seen in certain psychic states like depression or mania. I'd like to draw that out some more, but this will have to wait for another day.