Quote Originally Posted by Cavguy View Post
One of my CGSC instructors (retired officer) has this book coming out next month. He argues our fixation with Clausewitz is responsible for us becoming strategically muddled.

He's let some of it fly in my classes so far, my opinion is he has created a strawman of Clausewitz and the whole center of gravity concept. He believes the trinity only applied in his era, and is irrelevant.

He advocates a US way of war based on the style most articulated by Sherman, total war and mass destruction to crush the willingness of the targeted society to resist. He figures this historically as 5-18% of the relevant population as KIA. The reason populations should suffer is to humiliate the warrior class and show that they are impotent to protect their society.

Provocative, to say the least. I got into quite a debate with him in class over some of it, and the moral implications therof. The instructor told me point blank he didn't like being lectured at by a student, so I have shut up on it.

I have paraphrased (perhaps inaccurately) some of the arguments made. Will have to wait for the book to appropriately and fairly respond to the arguments. Recommend Wilf review it for SWJ though.


Man I can hardly wait for the book!!! Sherman waged war against rich people, the secret to all victory. Judging from the table of contents it is going to be some book. Just like the original American system of Economics(it was actually called that) is superior to Keynes, Sherman is superior to St. Carl. When America starts to think for itself instead of trying to apply dead peoples theories to todays problems we will start winning again and making money to boot. Somebody invite the author to the SWC council. Get me his contact info and I'll do it.