The Utility of Force
by Rupert Smith · first published 2007
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2018–2021first – last mentioned
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From a highly decorated general, a brilliant new way of understanding war and its role in the twenty-first century.Drawing on his vast experience as a commander during the first Gulf War, and in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland, General Rupert Smith gives us a probing analysis of modern war. He demonstrates why today's conflicts must be understood as intertwined political and military events, and makes clear why the current model of total war has failed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other recent campaigns. Smith offers a compelling contemporary vision for how to secure our world and the conseq
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A more recent example would be the book "The Utility of Force" by General Rupert Smith. He argues that conventional militaries and tactics revolve around a concept of war that was made obsolete by nuclear weapons, and goes in depth regarding recent failings of NATO…
on “When You’re Outnumbered: Lessons from Two British Masters of Irregular Warfare” ↗…war has become far more important than physical war due to new technologies that shape public perceptions of conflicts in real time, regardless of what is actually happening on the battlefield. In The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World, General Sir Rupert Smith repeatedly makes the point that victory in war is about achieving a condition in the mind of the adversary. An opponent who doesn't accept…
on “For Whom the Cell Trolls” ↗