Mistaken? Yes.
Irrational? No.
My experience as a trainer for both the Iraqi and Afghan National armies taught me that just because someone’s actions don’t make sense to me doesn’t mean they don’t make sense to them.
One day, we were preparing our Iraqis to go out on patrol the following day. We checked weapons, equipment, rations, gas and vehicles. Everything was in order.
The next day, one of the soldiers came complaining to us that his vehicle didn’t start. We checked the vehicle and it turned out that he sold the battery at a market. Why? He hadn’t been paid yet and he needed the money.
We learned pretty quickly that we had to deal with our Iraqi counterparts in their logical frame of mind rather than our own.
Initially, our assumption that they would not scavenge their own supplies made sense. We never dealt with that before. But we had to change reference points and realize that our Iraqis were wired with a survivalist/opportunist view of the world (short term) rather than a planner’s view of the world (long term).
Dealing with someone who doesn’t have the same logical reference point as you is not irrational per se.