georgephillip
Diamond Member
- Dec 27, 2009
- 43,770
- 5,202
A retired Lt. Colonel, William Astore, has recently made an argument that claims "The Business of America is War."
As recent events in Kiev prove yet again, war and the threat of war is politics as usual:
"Once upon a time, as a serving officer in the U.S. Air Force, I was taught that Carl von Clausewitz had defined war as a continuation of politics by other means.
"This definition is, in fact, a simplification of his classic and complex book, On War, written after his experiences fighting Napoleon in the early nineteenth century.
"The idea of war as a continuation of politics is both moderately interesting and dangerously misleading: interesting because it connects war to political processes and suggests that they should be fought for political goals; misleading because it suggests that war is essentially rational and so controllable.
"The fault here is not Clausewitzs, but the American militarys for misreading and oversimplifying him.
"Perhaps another 'Carl' might lend a hand when it comes to helping Americans understand what war is really all about.
"Im referring to Karl Marx, who admired Clausewitz, notably for his idea that combat is to war what a cash payment is to commerce.
"However seldom combat (or such payments) may happen, they are the culmination and so the ultimate arbiters of the process."
The Business of America Is War | William Astore
As recent events in Kiev prove yet again, war and the threat of war is politics as usual:
"Once upon a time, as a serving officer in the U.S. Air Force, I was taught that Carl von Clausewitz had defined war as a continuation of politics by other means.
"This definition is, in fact, a simplification of his classic and complex book, On War, written after his experiences fighting Napoleon in the early nineteenth century.
"The idea of war as a continuation of politics is both moderately interesting and dangerously misleading: interesting because it connects war to political processes and suggests that they should be fought for political goals; misleading because it suggests that war is essentially rational and so controllable.
"The fault here is not Clausewitzs, but the American militarys for misreading and oversimplifying him.
"Perhaps another 'Carl' might lend a hand when it comes to helping Americans understand what war is really all about.
"Im referring to Karl Marx, who admired Clausewitz, notably for his idea that combat is to war what a cash payment is to commerce.
"However seldom combat (or such payments) may happen, they are the culmination and so the ultimate arbiters of the process."
The Business of America Is War | William Astore