Want to understand the war? Ask the generals
Barely a week goes by without a retired general — and sometimes a serving one — hitting the headlines. The trouble is that they do so more often because of who they are, rather than because of what they are saying. In most walks of life professional expertise qualifies its possessor to articulate an opinion, and indeed can create a moral obligation to do so. But in the case of war we deny the serving professionals that right.
Counter-insurgencies are 20 per cent military and 80 per cent political. To succeed in such wars generals need sophisticated political antennae. Both David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal have them — they liaise with an administration in Washington that is unsure of its direction, co-ordinate the actions of allies with differing objectives, and accommodate the aspirations of the Governments of Iraq and Afghanistan.… Seguir leyendo »