The Ancient Art of Modern Warfare

• Moving Forward with the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare (E110)

  Now that I have laid the groundwork for what I think everyone needs to know about war, I can digress and address current topics of interest, placing them in the framework of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare. In this podcast I build on the topic of peace in the last episode to address current developments regarding Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor. Putin cannot be rewarded for his violations of international law, the laws and customs of war, both jus ad bellum and jus in bello, and threatening the peace and security of all of Europe. However, without a Western commitment to apply overwhelming force against Russian aggression, a cease fire is in order. The death and destruction of war without any serious prospects for victory violates Just War principles of proportionality and reasonable probability of success. Even Clausewitz would agree. As usual, the opinions in these podcasts are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Department of Defense, anyone else in the U.S. Government, or any other organization I am or ever have been associated with. Music: Wagner, R. and US Marine Corps Band, Siegfried’s Funeral March and Finale (Götterdammerung) from “Music of Richard Wagner” (1981) (Public Domain)

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• E109: Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace

  In my closing podcast summarizing the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare I review key points from Episodes 91-96 about peace, with an application to current events. When we are trying to figure out conflict termination the take-away should be that peace after war depends on: Jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The material evils of war are only justified to correct an injustice so great that the continued harm of that injustice is worse than the harm caused by that war. The cure cannot be worse than the disease. Jus in bello limits those harms and makes the restoration of peace easier. Being feared but not hated. This goes with Jus in Bello. Deliberate actions that cause unnecessary death and destruction, particularly to the civilian population and cultural/religious works, can inflame passion and hatred among the civilian population. The result can both extend the conflict and instill long-lasting resentments which plant the seeds of future war. Jus post bellum: Establishing or re-establishing justice. Victory is not peace. It does not correct the injustices that justified the war. Victory, or the point where both sides are so exhausted that they accept a truce, is merely a necessary pre-condition for building a peace that addresses the root causes of the injustices that led to armed conflict. Sadly, these are largely ideals, rarely practiced throughout history. They are derived from the numerous examples in the history of warfare which disregarded these concepts and the far fewer examples in which they were practiced, leading to a more sustainable peace. Although this is the last episode covering the fundamentals that I think every citizen should know about war, the podcast will continue, but more on that next week.   Music: Copeland, A., and the US Marine Corps Band, Fanfare for the Common Man (2000), Library of Congress recording  

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  8:16
• War is a Political Instrument

  After taking a Christmas break, I am picking up on my summaries of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare. In the previous episode, I described the nature of war as violence intended to compel an opponent to submit to your will. Although this idea is described by Carl von Clausewitz in his magnum opus, On War, the Prussian philosopher of war is best known for the aphorism that war is a continuation of politics by other means. It is a catchy phrase, but that translation leaves a lot to be desired and misses key points Clausewitz wanted to make. As I see it, the key take-aways from this idea are: War must be viewed as an instrument of national policy – one among many. War is not the policy; war is inserted to the ongoing political engagement to achieve the policy objective.  Therefore, it is important to know what that policy is – the objective the policy intends to achieve. That is, to understand what a nation intends to achieve by war, before embarking upon it. It follows then, that the use of force in war must be consistent with the aims of that policy. Not all wars have the policy objective of overthrowing the enemy. A suspension of active warfare does not necessarily mean abandoning the strategic policy objective. If you want to end a war, achieve or change the policy objective.   Reference: v. Clausewitz, C., On War, (Michael Howard and Peter Paret Ed. And Tansl.) © 1976 Princeton University Press, New Jersey, USA Music: Holst, G. The Planets: Mars, Bringer of War, Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/GustavHolstThePlanetsMarsTheBringerOfWar_201709 Traditional, The Army Strings, Garryowen (Public Domain(

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• E107: The Unchanging Nature of War

  In this second episode of my summary series, I address the Nature of War. That nature is violence directed at an opponent to coerce him to submit to your will. This violence has always been the nature of war and it will always be so. Further, this violence must be so painful to your opponent that he will prefer submitting to your will rather than continuing to resist. How you apply that violence and where the pain must be applied changes with time, technology, and culture. Further, the tools to apply this pain are not just kinetic, or direct military action. Economic pain can be just as important as military force. So too is information directed towards increasing fear of pain in the opponents’ population, its leaders, and your opponents’ friends. What makes war different from other forms of violence is its political nature. This violence is directed towards achieving a political end state. Without directing military force to a clearly defined political objective military success is still possible but will, more than likely, end in strategic failure.   For more information refer to Episode 7 of this series, “What is War;” Episode 8: “The Natural Laws of War;” Episode 42: “All Successful Wars Are Alike;” and Episode 43: “Ways to Lose a War.”   Reference: Clausewitz, C., On War, (Michael Howard and Peter Paret Ed. And Tansl.) © 1976 Princeton University Press, New Jersey, USA   Music: Holst, G. The Planets: Mars, Bringer of War, Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/GustavHolstThePlanetsMarsTheBringerOfWar_201709 Wagner, R. and USMC Band, Siegfried’s Funeral March, Public Domain  

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  8:59
• E106: Summarizing the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare, Part 1

  For a little more than five years and 105 episodes, I have been podcasting on what I believe everyone can and should know about war and sometimes more specifically the characteristics of the persistent conflict we see in the world around us. Almost every week, something develops that want to explain by placing it within the context of the enduring nature of war – and the pursuit of peace. That said, I think that I have just about said everything that needs to be said explaining what war is, how it is unchanging in nature, and how even the changing characteristics of war demonstrate war’s unchanging nature. In trying to respond to emerging events, this description was not laid out in any sort of logical framework. So, in the next few episodes I will try to summarize the key points, or takeaways, of the past hundred plus episodes, in a way that does provide that logical framework.   The opinions in these podcasts are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Department of Defense, anyone else in the U.S. Government, or any other organization I am or ever have been associated with. 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.) The Army Strings, GarryOwen (Traditional) (Public Domain) Kilstoffe, Jens, The Cavalry, Machinamasound (Licensed)

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