Day 501
Empires of man
Carl von Clausewitz argued that war is the continuation of politics by other means. So war is not just about blowing things up — it’s about achieving political aims. (More about Clausewitz from Days 4461 and 2012).
In this sense, if recent history is any guide, Team USA specializes in not achieving victory. The national track record in major wars since World War II includes two victories (Panama and the Gulf War), one big if (Kosovo), one defeat (Vietnam) and four ambiguous outcomes (Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya).
In the last three decades, the United States has toppled four regimes through force of arms. Three of the targeted countries are currently basket cases of civil war and terrorism. None of the wars spawned after 9/11 ended well.
We can also knock Z down a couple of pegs. Here is one (1) excerpt from Vsevolod Samokhvalov’s review of The Zelensky Effect, New Perspectives on Eastern Euro…