Spring 1994 / JFQ 7
I
ncreasingly the use of force is a last resort
of industrialized nations. This is an ad-
mission of defeat since war can no longer
be rationalized in economic terms. Force
is most effective when one possesses it but is
not compelled to use it. Conventional or nu-
clear conflicts, the Persian Gulf War
notwithstanding, are not worth the costs for
the losers, and in many cases not for the vic-
tors. Bankruptcy, moral or financial, may be
the shared outcome for all parties to future
conflicts.
The image of war, shaped over centuries,
is precise, graphic, and evocative. It is
marked by battles: expenditures of blood
and treasure sufficient to achieve military
objectives that lead to new international
alignments. Although this image is common
and compelling, it is increasingly irrelevant;
it reflects outdated, simplistic, even roman-
tic ideas about winning and losing. It is an
image of war based on paradoxes that
should be obvious on reflection, but that
have been elusive in developing new con-
cepts for national security policy and mili-
tary strategy.
Paradoxes are variously defined as tenets
contrary to conventional wisdom, argu-
ments that yield seemingly self-contradic-
tory conclusions, and statements that run
counter to common sense. While much has
been said about the search for a new
Paradoxes of War
By GRANT T. HAMMOND
War is apt to defy its traditional image in the future. If the end of past wars was to win by fighting better
than one’s adversary (violence marked by a hardware-driven, physical contest to destroy the enemy’s means),
the end of future wars may be not to lose by not fighting an adversary (peaceful competition characterized by
a software-driven, moral and cerebral contest to change perceptions). This is not simply a choice between
conventional and unconventional images of war. We must reinvent war by redefining its nature. Armed
conflict as it has been known is beyond the capacity of most nations today. Military victory no longer enjoys
the cachet that it once bore. By understanding the paradoxes of war we will help to ensure the future success
of the Armed Forces.
Summary
Oil field set ablaze by
retreating Iraqis.
U.S. Navy (Ed Bailey)
0404Hammond 10/7/97 2:07 PM Page 7
