The Ancient Art of Modern Warfare

Is war rational? The great philosopher of war, Carl von Clausewitz, was a product of three schools of education: the classical tradition of Aristotle, the enlightenment philosophers such as Kant, and the practical experience of Napoleon. Each of these three challenged and opposed the other two. His work, On War expresses this tension and opposition. In his effort to develop a comprehensive theory of war, he had to deal with the many instances where the reality of war seemed to defy any coherent framework, where the things which should happen in war are contradicted by what actually happens. (This fits with his assigning the element of probability and chance to the military leg of his famous triad.) “Consequently,” he wrote, “it would be an obvious fallacy to imagine war between civilized peoples as resulting merely from a rational act on the part of their governments…” If it did, he concluded, then in the end, war would never need to be fought. But wars are fought. Is war itself then, irrational?

 

Music:

Traditional, The Army Strings, Garryowen (Public Domain)

Copland, A. & United States Marine Band. (2000) Fanfare for the Common Man. unpublished, Washington, DC. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, (Fair use for educational purposes.)

Since at least the 1940’s, policy and strategic thinking uses the so-called rational actor model in determining what competitors and partners may do, how to respond to them, and how they may react in return. Even considering variations to that model to explain less than optimal choices by these actors, there appears to be enough irrationality by state and non-state actors to call into question whether continued use of the rational actor model is itself rational.

 

Music:

Traditional, The Army Strings, Garryowen (Public Domain)

Copland, A. & United States Marine Band. (2000) Fanfare for the Common Man. unpublished, Washington, DC. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, (Fair use for educational purposes.)

I haven’t posted for a few weeks mostly because the current armed conflict with Iran poses a lot of questions that I don’t have answers for. One thing I might have an answer for is the question about wars of choice. Recently, this term is used in a way that implies that this armed conflict is illegitimate or unethical. Like many terms used by any faction with intended political impact, the term is left undefined. Without defining terms there can be no logical argument. Rather, the intent is an appeal to emotion, rather than reason. In this episode of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare, I take on the challenge of defining that term and applying it to modern conflicts.

Music:

Traditional, The Army Strings, Garryowen (Public Domain)

Holst, G. The Planets: Mars Bringer of War, downloaded from Internet Archive

Any quick net search for the term “cyber mercenary” will result in dozens, if not hundreds of entries. These concerns largely focus on the effect these persons or entities have on personal freedoms, economic activity, and the ability of hackers and States can work together to undermine human rights. What about cyber mercenaries and warfare? Can – or do – real mercenaries of the cyber domain of warfare actively participate in combat? If so, how can they disrupt armed conflict or undermine whatever humanitarian principles still exist in warfare? It took the international community years to catch up on the use of private military and security companies in armed conflict and we are still struggling with State-run quasi-mercenary organizations. We need to get ahead of cyberwarfare domain mercenaries now, while the genie is still peeking out from the bottle.

 

References:

Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907

International Committee of the Red Cross (2008) The Montreux Document On pertinent international legal obligations and good practices for States related to operations of private military and security companies during armed conflict. Geneve: International Committee of the Red Cross / Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Melzer, Nils, Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, 2009.

Music: Kiilstofte, P. Mercenaries, Machinamasound (Licensed)

As I post this, the cease-fires in Lebanon and Iran are still holding, and much longer than I expected. We usually think of cease fires as a good thing, enabling humanitarian activity and at least pause the death and destruction. That is not, however, the purpose behind any suspension in fighting a war. In this episode I examine the real reasons for most truces or cease fires, explore probable motivations for the current cease fires, and ask whether all cease fires are inherently good.

 

Disclaimer:  These podcasts are not monetized or subsidized in any way, nor do they represent anyone’s opinion but my own.

Reference: Clausewitz, C. On War, Book One, Chapter One

Music: Copland, A. & United States Marine Band. (2000) Fanfare for the Common Man. unpublished, Washington, DC. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, (Fair use for educational purposes.)