Beyond Iraq: The Lessons of a Hard Place
Abstract
Our "adventure" in Iraq is doing little to enhance the post 9/11 security of the American public. The idea that a Middle East-altering democracy could be militarily introduced into a country as riven and as historically different from the U.S. as Iraq is now understood to have been naive. As a series of early failures drove wedge after wedge into the fragile Iraqi society, the policy objective of a "united, stable and democratic Iraq" at peace with its neighbors fell victim to shortsighted decisions and poor preparation. The prolonged engagement in Iraq is distracting us from an even greater threat of a stateless insurgency arrayed against the current world order. A mechanism for constraining U.S. prerogatives has been established, and a formula for our defeat is under development. As illustrated by French knights' resistance to the British introduction of the longbow in 1346, or the British befuddlement when confronted by colonial snipers during the American Revolution, advantage accrues to the creative. Innovation can shift the odds of victory. Low-tech approaches can threaten high-tech yet doctrinaire capabilities, the very deployment of which is delicately balanced on fragile political will and low tolerance for casualties in the U.S. Military superiority relegates conventional force-on-force conflict to the past, and today's strategic leaders must recognize the vulnerability created by power that shifts our opponents' targeting to the civil society our military is designed to protect. Eisenhower's warning has come true. The juggernaut of our defense bureaucracy and the attendant industrial complex is animated by factors that have become obsolete. The audit of war in Iraq is guiding us toward correcting strategic deficits and we are beginning to transform military doctrine, training, and tactics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA515570
Entities
People
- Anton K. Smith
Organizations
- United States Army War College