Thinking beyond War Civil-Military Relations and Why America Fails to Win the Peace

by Wilson, Isaiah

• ISBN13: 9781137344427
• ISBN10: 1137344423
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-10-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Why was there a deliberate plan to fight the war in Iraq but none to win the peace? This question, which has caused such confusion and consternation among the American public and been the subject of much political wrangling, is the focus of Isaiah Wilson's investigation. Wilson points to a flaw in the government's definition of when, how, and for what reasons the United States intervenes abroad. It is a paradox in the American way of peace and war, he explains, that harkens back to America's war loss in Vietnam. The dilemma faced in Iraq can thus be seen as the result of a flaw in how we have viewed the war from its inception, and Thinking Beyond War reminds us that Iraq is just the latest, albeit the most poignant and tragic, case in point. The provided exploration of this paradox calls for new organizational and operational approaches to America's intervention policy. In challenging current western societal military lexicon and doctrine, Wilson offers new hope and practical solutions to overcome the paradox once and for all.

Author Biography

Colonel Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III is a Professor of Political Science where he serves as Director of the American Politics, Policy, and Strategy Program in the Department of Social Sciences and Founding Director of the West Point Grand Strategy Program. He has taught previously at the National War College, Columbia University, George Washington University, and Yale. A former combat aviator and current Army strategist, Wilson has served in command, planner, and advisory roles at all echelons from tactical to national/international policy levels and special mission projects. He served as the Chief of Plans of the 101st Air Assault Division in Mosul, Iraq, contributed to the Army's first assessment of Operation Iraqi Freedom, served as an advisor and planner in Kabul, Afghanistan on civil-military integration, and team lead of the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army's Veterans and Military Families transition and reintegration study group.

Table of Contents

1. The Paradox of the American Way of Warfare
2. Defining Modern Warfare
3. A Structural-Constructivist History
4. Two Cases: Germany and Japan
5. The Balkans, Somalia, Haiti, and Rwanda: The Paradox Theory and Postmodern Warfare
6. The Case of Iraq
7. Conclusions: The Rest of the Story