Terrorism in the U.S. Before 9/11/2001

June 12, 2015

Reprise: A Day That Changed The World

June 7, 2015

Fifty-Seven Years and Counting

May 31, 2015

In Memorium

May 23, 2015

That Isn’t The Way It Was

May 15, 2015

Are We Incrementally Giving Up Our Right to Free Speech?

May 9, 2015

Illegitimis non Carborundum

May 1, 2015

How Fear of Disaese Has Changed in My Lifetime

January 29, 2015

Thanksgiving in the 1940s

November 13, 2014

Are We Really Listening?

November 10, 2014

Please reload

Recent Posts

Thanksgiving in the 1940s

November 13, 2014

The Realities of Our Interconnected World

July 18, 2014

How Fear of Disaese Has Changed in My Lifetime

January 29, 2015

1/10
Please reload

Featured Posts

The Nature of War

August 1, 2014

I write historical novels about war. My first book, Fall Eagle One, is about World War II in Europe. My second novel, Hold Back the Sun, is set in the opening months of the Pacific War in the Western Pacific. Asphalt and Blood, which is at the copy edit phase, tells the story of U.S. Navy Seabees in the Vietnam Battle for Hue City.

 

In order to write about war, one must understand it. I spent over 29 years in the U.S. Navy, of which seventeen months were in Vietnam. I hold the Navy’s Combat Action Ribbon. An amateur historian all my life, I have concentrated my studies on WW2. From personal experience and rigorous study, I believe that I have an understanding of modern warfare.

 

War is, by its very nature, barbaric and horrific. The purpose of war is to impose one’s will on the enemy through the use of military force. War is not a duel, with rules to assure that one opponent has no advantage over the other. War is successful only when the enemy loses the will to resist.

 

In today’s Washington Post, Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the U.S. State Department, argues persuasively that many in today’s Washington, D.C., do not understand the nature of war. He points out that President Abraham Lincoln hated war as much as anyone on earth, yet he understood that winning the American Civil War required his generals to break the will of the Confederate population to continue the struggle. I assert in Fall Eagle One that Union generals invented the modern concept of Total War as it was practiced in WW2. The “scorched earth” campaigns carried out by General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley and General Sherman’s March to the Sea in Georgia speak for themselves. Photographs of Richmond, Virginia, after its surrender look much like those of Berlin in 1945.

 

Only rigorous application of force makes possible a rapid conclusion of hostilities and a minimization of total casualties. Following the suicide bombing of U.S. Marines in Lebanon early in his administration, President Reagan ordered Caspar Weinberger, the Secretary of Defense, to develop a new doctrine for the use of military force. The resulting “Weinberger Doctrine,” sometimes called the “Weinberger/Powell Doctrine,” espoused the following: 

  • military force should only be used as a last resort in situations where key national interests are involved, 

  • military force should only be used in situations where a large majority of the U.S. public supports its use, and 

  • when military action is taken, it should be in such overwhelming force that the ensuing conflict is concluded quickly, thereby minimizing overall casualties. 

 

This doctrine governed U.S. military involvements through the NATO actions in the Balkans during the Clinton Administration.

 

Unfortunately, sometime during the run-up to the Vietnam War, the competing doctrines of “Just Enough Force” and “Proportionality” crept into the conduct of war. For years, the U.S. attempted to apply just enough military pressure to force the North Vietnamese to give up their conquest of the South. When Moshe Dayan, the former Defense Minister of Israel, visited Vietnam in the 1960s, he was asked how the U.S. could end the war. His answer was direct: take the war to the enemy’s homeland. Because obliterating North Vietnam’s capacity to continue fighting was not even being considered, the Vietnam War dragged on for years.

 

“Proportionality” implies that, when attacked, the response should be no more severe than the attack. This doctrine seems especially attractive to reporters in the news media, who ask about it continually when interviewing combatants. “Proportionality” calls for a “leveling of the playing field,” a minimization of one side’s military advantages. In the context of warfare, “proportionality” guarantees prolonged conflict, which in turn maximizes total casualties. Pursuing this course is anathema to any competent military commander.

 

War is not some game. People suffer and die in war. It is not, as Chancellor Bismarck argued, simply “Diplomacy by other means.” As I said earlier, war is both barbaric and horrific. I believe that Secretary Weinberger and General Powell got it right on the use of military force.  Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman all understood the nature of war and applied overwhelming force to end WW2. Current world leaders could emulate their wisdom.

 

Note: Warren Bell is a historical fiction author with two novels for sale either for Kindle or in paperback from Amazon.com. Both are set during WWII, with Fall Eagle One taking place in Europe, and Hold Back the Sun set in the war in the Pacific.  

Tags:

social mediaa

twitter

warren bell

Please reload

Follow Us

asphalt and blood

asphalt and blood, fall eagle one, hold back the sun, ku klux klan, new left, patty hurst, symbionese liberation army, warren bell, weather underground, weathermen

bulldozer

d-day

fdr

forgiveness

ken follett

my lai

omaha beach

photo

seabee

social media

social mediaa

twitter

vietcong

vietnam

warren bell

ww2

Please reload

Search By Tags

June 2015 (2)

May 2015 (5)

January 2015 (1)

November 2014 (3)

October 2014 (1)

September 2014 (2)

August 2014 (3)

July 2014 (3)

June 2014 (3)

May 2014 (2)

Please reload

Archive
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
  • HOME

  • AUTHOR

  • CONTACT

  • BOOKS

  • NEWS & EVENTS

  • REVIEWS

  • BLOG

  • Blog

  • More

    Award Winning Historical Fiction Thriller Author

    Kindle or Paperback

    © 2016 by Warren Bell, Karen Williams, Marketing for Authors

    • Facebook Reflection
    • Twitter Reflection
    • goodreads_icon_32x32.jpg
    • YouTube Reflection
    • Pinterest Reflection
    • Blogger Reflection
    • Tumblr Reflection
    • email-48x48.png
    • amazon-48x48.png
    More About Me

    I am a husband, a father, and a grandpa called "Papa." I make up bedtime stories for my grandkids "on-the-fly" about everything from "Blondie Blocks" to takeoffs on STAR WARS. Like Inspector Morse, I am "a useful baritone," and I have sung in choirs for over six decades. According to Facebook, I was a warrior in a prior life. If you'd like to know more about me, read my full bio.

    Don't Miss Anything

    I write a blog with articles on writing, history, and my background, research, opinions and books. I also send out a periodic Newsletter with updates about my writing and my books. If you don't want to miss a thing, enter your email below.

    Connect!