[February 21, 2017] There are many senior government leaders who strongly believe that war solves nothing and therefore it is an important moral duty to avoid war at all costs. Such a position is contrary to the history of humankind but there are a few academics who study war that agree; they study war, not to promote war but to help preserve peace.
During my combat tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq in early 2004, I had the opportunity to have conversations with several senior Iraqi military leaders who worked directly for Saddam Hussein.1 Those talks covered many topics but one of interest here is why did the Iraqi military invade Kuwait in 1990 and Saddam Hussein give support to the terrorists who struck the United States in September 2001.
Their answers differed somewhat but the theme of each was that no one believed the United States would do anything about it. They admitted that they believed the U.S. to be a paper tiger incapable of any use of its military; its politicians and military leaders unwilling to commit troops to a war that would cause, in their view, massive casualties. They thought the American “capitalists” were corrupt and cowardly and therefore would not stand for their sons and daughters coming home in coffins.
They were wrong, of course, and they admitted it to me reluctantly in so many words. But of interest here is that if the United States appeared militarily strong and its politicians had the resolve to use it, Saddam Hussein and his military would never have invaded Kuwait or supported terrorists.
The U.S. Army War College located at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania is an institution that is dedicated to preserving the peace. It is a human condition that the strongest are less likely to be preyed upon by those seeking an advantage. The idea is that those looking for a lucrative target will be attracted to weakness. Professional academics at the War College are in the business of studying war so that their effort helps make America so strong that no one will seek to attack.
Those who work and study at the War College operate under the assumption that war is wrong but when there is no feasible alternative, it is better to be strong, prepared, and willing to use America’s military might than acquiescence or appeasement of the enemy. Enemies of the U.S. must understand this and know that there will be no hesitation to win any war, any time, and at any place.
Strength means that aggressors like Iraq would never have contemplated what they did to Kuwait if America had made it clear what the consequences would be.
[Don’t forget to “Like” the Leader Maker at our Facebook Page.]
——————–
- A few of these were captives of the U.S. military and a few were free. Captives were those caught actively supporting an insurgency that targeted the military coalition forces that had seized the country in May 2003.