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Donald Stoker's Why America Loses War: Limited War and US Strategy from the Korean War to the Present (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
The United States has been at war since 2001 in various
parts of the globe. We have an entire
generation of officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted military members
who have known only war. In addition,
the majority of our law makers and now three presidents have also never served
in a time of peace. Given that we have
been fighting the same conflict for over 18 years, one is correct to ask the
question, do American’s know how to win a war?
In his book, “Why America Loses Wars,” Dr. Donald Stoker, a former
professor of Strategy and Policy for the U.S. Naval War College’s Monterey
Program, answers that question. Stoker argues that Americans don’t know how to win. Further–not only do they not know how to
win, they don’t understand what war is all about. Certainly these sentiments are a bit of a shock
to the casual observer, but we are intellectually honest with ourselves, Stoker has a good point. He suggests
that our decision makers and military leaders continually fail to set
objectives and lack a vision of what victory looks like. He also says we are incapable of formulating
a strategy because we can’t set a desired end-state. Stoker critiques the community for
defining war based on the method rather than the objective. In short, he suggests we don’t spend time
trying understand the war and following peace and are overly concerned with how
to fight it.
The timeliness of this conversation cannot be
understated. As the U.S. finds itself on
the edge of seemingly endless conflicts we must be judicious in finding the
right path forward. Understanding the
problem and forcing practitioners to do the hard intellectual work required
when deciding on the use of force is the first step to learning to win
again. Discussions on “no-fly” zones,
protection of ethnic groups, influence in civil wars, and responses to peer
competitor actions must be taken with Stocker’s suggestions in mind. How do we define victory in any of those scenarios
and do we have the will and resources to support a strategy that meets the
victory conditions? Not being able to
clearly answer those questions is a recipe for endless conflict that stands to
financial drain the United States. For
no other reason than forcing those discussions, Stoker’s book should be
read by all who are concerned with our nation’s national security.
About the Recommender
Rob Givens is the state director for the Office of US Senator Rand Paul. He spent 27 years in military service with more 3,700 hours as a command pilot with the U.S. Air Force. A combat veteran, he has more than 100 career and combat sorties in Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and was twice decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross. He served as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for US Forces Korea. He was also Director, Combined Air and Space Operations Center, USAF Central Command, Southwest Asia.
Views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the McConnell Center. This recommendation is part of the McConnell Center's Meditations publication series for soldiers and students in our Strategic Broadening Seminar. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter.