Those who are selling a short, fast, and successful war are selling a lie. It seems every generation thinks they have found a way to fix the problem. Over and over, from Europe in 1939 to Europe again in 2022, the quick and successful war that was briefed devolved into a consuming slog.
You can win a consuming slog, but you have to be able to mobilize and industrialize your way through it—and you need to start doing that years before the war starts.
The fleet that showed up in 1943 did not start in 1941—it began in 1936, 1938, and 1940.
A decade and a half after President Obama’s “Pacific Pivot”, we still talk a big game about being ready for the next Great Pacific War west of the International Date Line. We’ve had our slap fights through various copes like “Deterrence by Denial” v. “Deterrence by Punishment”, etc.
Even after four years of the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022, when we were warned again about the dangers of optimism filters, have we yet turned into the storm we have been running from? Are we ready for it?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member