That is the position adopted by Ralph Peters regarding the war in Iraq. And more to the point, he argues that what is necessary is that we do what is necessary to achieve victory.

Above all, we have to maintain a strength of will equal to that of our opponents. War demands consistency, and we're the most fickle great power in history. We must focus on defeating our enemies, brushing aside all other considerations.

At present, we let those other considerations rule our behavior: We overreact to media sensationalism (which our enemies exploit brilliantly); we torment ourselves over the least mistakes our troops make; we delude ourselves that mass murderers have rights; we take prisoners knowing they'll be freed to kill more Americans - and the politicians and Green Zone generals alike pretend that "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

That's the biggest lie ever told by a human being who wasn't a member of Congress.

Winning is everything. Fighting ruthlessly may not please the safe-at-home moralists, but it's losing that's immoral.

And if that means that we quit fighting by the Queensbury rules against an opponent using street-brawl tactics, that is what has to happen – even if that means taking the gloves off and fighting by means we consider distasteful.

And in particular, that means abandoning the notion, put forward by those who reject the Shermanesque notion that war is (and, indeed, must be) hell, that war can be clean, sanitary, and always fought by the most humane of rules. This has, peters argues, brought us to the point that any misdeed by our troops is seen as proof that our cause is unjust, while the much greater misdeeds of the enemy are brushed aside.

There are countless other ways in which we elevate the little immoralities required in war above the supreme immorality of losing. Leftists loved My Lai - they just adored it - but they were never called to account for the communist atrocities after Saigon fell. Pol Pot's butchery was never laid at the feet of the self-righteous bastards who shrieked, "Give peace a chance."

And no one on the left will discuss what might happen if we fail in Iraq. The truth is that they don't care.

We face merciless, implacable enemies who joyously slaughter the innocent with the zeal of religious fanaticism. Yet we want to make sure we don't hurt anyone's feelings.

We've tried many things in Iraq. They've all failed. It's a shame we never really tried to fight.

Peters has the matter exactly right – and I’d argue that our willingness to abide by his advice will be the telling point on whether or not America can ever successfully fight another war again. Our downfall is not based upon military weakness – rather, it is based upon a sense of moral superiority that leads us to fits of breast-beating scrupulosity while absolving the most ruthless acts of our enemies.

Posted by: Greg at 11:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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