The Fallacy of the 'Unwinnable War'
Defense and dual-use technologies
Good morning!
We’ve seen a massive uptick recently in people throwing around the term ‘unwinnable war’.
It’s been applied to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war as justification for halting aid and pushing for ceasefire terms unfavorable to Ukraine. It’s been applied to a hypothetical U.S.-China war. It’s been applied retroactively to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But let’s be clear. It’s a bullshit term.
No war is unwinnable.
Everyone’s favorite strategist, the dead Prussian, Carl von Clausewitz reminds us that ‘war is only an extension of politics by other means’ and cannot be isolated from the policy. Further, Clausewitz highlights that:
War therefore is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will.
If war is an act of violence meant to force the enemy into submission, then the only real measure of whether a war is ‘winnable’ is whether a nation has the will, means, and strategy to impose its political objectives.
Wars aren’t won or lost in some predeterm…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Building Our Future to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.