When it comes to armed conflict, many believe that the worst thing a country can do is to fight its last war. Now a new concept has eclipsed that monumentally poor practice \u2014 namely, Gen. John Michael Loh’s advice to fight the war before last [“Apply Desert Storm Lessons to Islamic State Conflict,” Commentary, March 9].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his article, the general opined that America’s armed forces would make quick work of the Islamic State (IS) if they just had clear military objectives like they did back in the days of Desert Storm. If only it were that simple. Gen. Loh is wise to reflect on history; however, he would be better off casting his gaze about 200 years earlier. The general should ponder Carl von Clausewitz’s dictum which charged leaders to remember that “the first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish … the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature<\/i> [italics added].” Not only does Gen. Loh’s advice violate this maxim \u2014 it stands to result in setbacks at all levels of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To begin with, IS has learned important lessons from Saddam’s mistakes. Rather than massing in remote desert locations, IS fighters disperse within population centers. This simple tactical adjustment makes IS a far more formidable foe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the operational level, America counts itself as one of a number of nations that are engaging IS. But as a whole, the group pales in comparison to the cohesive coalition that brought Saddam’s war machine to its knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, at the strategic level, IS preaches an ideology that inspires fighters from around the world to rally to its cause. Contrast this with the Iraqi troops that were all too willing to abandon their positions as soon as the opportunity presented itself. The adversary has transformed, and it is high time that America reciprocates in kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Desert Storm, the US opted to ignore the al-Qaida threat, and the group exploited the opportunity. Clearly, America did not benefit from this isolationist approach. Subsequent to the 9\/11 attacks, America’s responses fell on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum; as opposed to ignoring rogue nations, the US elected to invade them. This approach also proved to be deficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At present, whether by happenstance or by design, America seems to be pursuing a third approach that looks quite a bit like offshore balancing. What is more, it seems to be working. Think about it: In Iraq today, there are opportunities for IS terrorists to face off against Hezbollah factions or even Iran’s vaunted Quds Force \u2014 all the while keeping Assad’s Syria in a state of chaos. While this approach is unlikely to end with a ticker-tape parade in New York, it may eventually inspire regional actors to develop their own local (and lasting) solutions. Perhaps the US can still salvage a strategic victory in the Middle East \u2014 if it opts to hasten slowly vice rushing to failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Fitzpatrick<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manassas, Va.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When it comes to armed conflict, many believe that the worst thing a country can do is to fight its last war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":115413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":66,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[66,33,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1929],"class_list":["post-57626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-home","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"T3ZQZC2WZJEN3EFYAOHJP5TY2A","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2015\/03\/25\/letter-fight-islamic-state-not-saddam\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n