Perhaps the toughest decision any leader can undertake is
the prospect of declaring war. A leader must be confident enough to believe
their convictions that war is the only answer. It cannot be taken likely. War
is bloody. War is miserable. War is expensive. All focus tends to be displayed
on whether it is necessary. A short and decisive victory can elevate a leader
into the people’s hearts. Yet a war that is bloody and sluggish can signal the
end of a government. Countless leaders have ridden the polls of popularity
after victory; whereas countless more have fallen upon defeat. The Prussian
general Carl von Clausewitz said that “War is an extension of politics by other
means”, and even to this day wars are resolved by political leaders and
diplomats, not soldiers. War is constructed through a political and moral lens.
Is an invasion illegal? Could it have international consequences? Is it
affordable? These are all questions asked before a potential conflict may
ensue. Yet few people actually ask militarily what war means.
The apparatus of war has evolved over the centuries. From
formations of soldiers across Great Plains, ready to duel on horseback to the
use of cruise missiles in the Gulf wars. As the size of armies has grown and
the weapons became more mechanised, it created units dedicated to medical and
logistics. The advances in communications and intelligence have allowed armies
to operate at greater distance and with more efficiency. No longer do generals
lead from the front but can be stationed hundreds of miles away. These advances
have not only changed the way wars are fought but increasingly how wars are
won. Up until the mid twentieth century, victories were determined by the
capitulation of an army or the capture of the enemy’s major city. Today’s
technological wars are fought within smaller warzones; requiring fewer frontline
troops but retaining devastating fire power.
The increasing use of unmanned drone aircraft is systematic
of this change. Even at the beginning of the Iraqi invasion in 2003, drones
were small reconnaissance probes that scoured for intelligence. Now, they are
much bigger and armed with missiles to target and kill any threat. Controlled
from thousands of miles away in a military base in Nevada, operators are
engaged in a form of virtual war as they hunt enemies around the world. In late
2011, the American born Islamist militant, Anwar Awlaki was killed by a CIA
drone in Yemen to little news coverage. In fact, the use of drones over North-West
Pakistan, killing an unknown number of militants and civilians, has caused America
less trouble diplomatically than the raid carried out by US Navy SEALS that
killed Osama bin Laden.
Wars that are unseen are perhaps more conducive for a
government and military. Compare the news coverage of assassinations of Iranian
nuclear physicists by foreign agents (possibly Mossad) and the computer virus
that has caused havoc to Iranian nuclear enrichment plants (CIA, GCHQ) to NATO’s
role in Libya. It is unsurprising that governments are investing heavily in
their secret services and Special Forces, moving away from the traditional
spheres of warfare.
All the while, Western societies are increasingly subscribing
to a post-militaristic view. As fewer families are affected by war, they are
moving away from the ideas of associated with the army. Civilians do not accept
the idea of a soldier dying for the good of the mission. Soldiers are ends in
themselves, not means of the Army. The use of improvised explosive devices
(IEDs) has made this war more vivid, particularly with a greater number of
survivors and a modern media to convey their story. Although every death is
tragic, it neglects the fact that soldiers sign up knowing they could possibly
die. In World War One, on average 559 British soldiers died per day (886,939 in
total), In Afghanistan, a war that began in 2001 has so far killed 398 soldiers.
It highlights the point.
All wars are demanding on all constituents: politicians, the
military and ordinary citizens. Although wars will be fought on different
lines, it will continue to ask the same questions as before.
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