The American way of war got us here

Can it get us out?

Will you buy the line that every country has a distinct way to wage war? There might a best way, but most countries wage war their way, often not the best way. Of course who decides what the “best” way is too often turns out to be some academic subject written decades later.

America’s historical trends about war so far in just over 200 years is one of isolationism, and pacifistic instincts. Many attribute this to being self confidently surrounded by vast oceans, and being too busy to take the time out to be bogged down by the old world’s problems.

We have gone to war. Congress and the President have declared war many times, and war with less than war declarations are also many. Sometimes we just have to fight. This is where the subject of the American way of war comes up.

We Americans have crummy war leaders, historically speaking. Mostly our Presidents and Congressmen, and importantly these days, their hired staffs, have little experience about war fighting. In the past this has been much the same. These days the American way of war includes vast bureaucracies that don’t respond very well to our President or Congress as they try to prosecute a war. That’s pretty bad, but the badness is amplified by the inexperience of our political leaders and their staffs. Most appalling is the inability of these same people to admit this, and do something about it, publicly.

So what we get is what we get. The old line of the blind leading the blind comes to mind. Maybe the academics have a point, though most doubt it. Does anyone doubt that had we not been attacked on September 11, 2001, with all the vast damage to our centers of gravity, that we would have attacked Iraq? This is the American way of war, before, during, and after. Our political leaders lead us there, a decision many agree with. It’s the during and talk of after that comes up these days. After all, you dance with the one you came with.

The attack of Iraq was a stunning military victory is its brevity and confirmation of all taught at the political and military schools about maneuver warfare and the entire military education system down to the NCO level, with Clausewitz confirmed. What was not taught, and later not practiced and imposed, was how to win the peace as in the nasty details of small wars occupations with un-American experiences like constabularies or gendarmes. Most professional schools did not teach this mostly because it is not how America works, though much of the rest of the world does work this way. All this process of losing the peace was amplified by bureaucratic infighting at the D.C. level. Nobody could impose unity of effort. This has been the American way of waging war.

Now citizens are being asked by our President to have patience in the Iraq war. The request assumes finally he and his hired minions have learned how to wage a small war, such as winning the peace in Iraq. It’s been a long four or more years for America in his and his staff’s learning curve. Now citizens are also hearing other loyal comments from some such as Senator Warner suggesting he and his staff also have some knowledge about winning the peace in Iraq, using their learning curve and political knowledge about the American way to wage war. There are other loyal comments suggesting some knowledge about winning the peace for U.S. interests.

It is important to our national interest to win the war against Al-Qaeda. We did defeat a similar idea against the Barbary Pirates around 1800. Whether Iraq makes it as an Arab democracy or three states or whatever is secondary to many of our thoughts. This is the American way of waging a war. The learning curve about waging war applies also to citizens, as we impose ourselves. Politicians got us into Iraq, and the cause was good and noble, and they will get us out of Iraq…with a good bit of citizen influence. This is the traditional American way of waging war.