Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Thrashing about is not a strategy

  1. #1
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Thrashing about is not a strategy

    A short article by Professor James Russell @ NPS, looking at the choices faced today and ends with:
    Until we grasp the central truths about the distinction between strategy and tactics and the limits of our military power, we will continue to thrash around ineffectually in yet another attempt to address the problem of fighting limited wars for limited objectives.
    Link:http://www.lobelog.com/learning-the-...he-wrong-wars/

    Here's another passage, yes it is written for an American audience, but I would argue it applies to other nations, allies etc:
    The inability to think through the lessons of more than a decade of irregular war symbolizes the intellectual fog gripping the foreign and national security policy establishment that has confused and blurred the distinctions between tactics and strategy.
    There is a swipe at the creation of the US SOF capability and whether lessons have been learnt from UW / IW / COIN.
    davidbfpo

  2. #2
    Council Member J Wolfsberger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    806

    Default

    I'm not really certain what his point is. Do we need to do some more thinking about lessons learned? Sure.

    But he also seems to be saying nobody can ever beat an insurgency. OK, so abject surrender? Do we concede the world to ISIS?

    If you talk about a problem without discussing solutions, it's called "whining." If Professor Russell wants to assert that conventional forces can't win, SOF can't win, then he should suggest alternatives. (And by alternatives, I don't mean the stale, socialist/Communist bromides that failed so miserably wherever applied.)
    John Wolfsberger, Jr.

    An unruffled person with some useful skills.

  3. #3
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default Think first, then act

    I posted this British ex-diplomat's viewpoint earlier on the current Iraq thread, it warrants appearing here and I cite his last two paragraphs:
    It is time for a root-and-branch review of the principles of British foreign policy, so that they reflect two essential things: the world as it is and not as we would wish it to be; and the British national interest. Or, to put it another way, don't do nation-building and don't intervene in other people's civil wars - we usually make things worse, as in Iraq, and the waste of blood and treasure is unforgivable.

    If this means hobnobbing with dictators, so be it. Only genocide and threats to world order merit military intervention, as with IS. For the rest, nations must be allowed to find their own destinies. After all it took Britain 713 years after Magna Carta, undisturbed by foreign invasion, to give women the vote.
    Link:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sir-...84.html?&ir=UK
    davidbfpo

  4. #4
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    13,366

    Default

    Gen. John R. Allen, USMC (Ret.), has a column taking a contrary view:http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2014.../?oref=d-river

    He does write that the USA should not act alone:
    The whole questionable debate on American war weariness aside, the U.S. military is not war weary and is fully capable of attacking and reducing IS throughout the depth of its holdings, and we should do it now, but supported substantially by our traditional allies and partners, especially by those in the region who have the most to give – and the most to lose – if the Islamic State’s march continues.
    To date I have seen very little regional support - excluding basing. A number of nations, families and individuals have financially supported the Jihadists - little sign of that stance changing. No mention of Iran either, hardly a 'traditional' ally (see main Iraq thread and Crowbat's recent explanation of their role).
    davidbfpo

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 316
    Last Post: 11-09-2011, 04:58 PM
  2. Is It Time to Get Out of Afghanistan?
    By Cannoneer No. 4 in forum OEF - Afghanistan
    Replies: 161
    Last Post: 05-31-2011, 04:19 AM
  3. Indirect and Direct components to strategy for the Long War
    By Rob Thornton in forum Strategic Compression
    Replies: 51
    Last Post: 01-06-2009, 11:36 PM
  4. Michele Flournoy on strategy
    By John T. Fishel in forum Government Agencies & Officials
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 03-24-2008, 01:29 PM
  5. Towards a Theory of Applied Strategy in Tribal Society
    By SWJED in forum Futurists & Theorists
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-23-2008, 01:06 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •