President Trump’s decision to re-name the Department of Defense the Department of War, is the right thing to do.
It means more than it seems, especially to critics on the political left who don’t know the difference between fighting and surrendering, or peace from cowardice.
The word “war” may suggest mere violence; that misunderstands what it really is: a readiness to fight, and to defend by fighting. Fighting is necessary in the world we live in.
Indeed, in business, and in our business schools, the military model is the language of competitive strategy, such as planning, maneuvering, flanking, and attacking.
If there is a “peace settlement” in business, it means one company taking over another or merging.
Airlines are an example. Countries are no different; that’s what “great power politics” means.
Fortunately the United States has a president and executive office that understands those similarities. They recognize diplomacy, but understand that the best diplomat is a fully armed fighting machine. Writer George Bernard Shaw put it this way: “I say that a man’s first duty is to learn to fight. If he can’t do that, he can’t set an example; he can’t stand up for his own rights, or for those of his neighbours.”
This speaks to what America must also fight for: its shared traditions in Judeo-Christian culture, especially when its enemies live by an opposite ideology of radical fundamentalism, and state collectivism.
Much of the developing world would like to undermine, or eradicate Western culture. A war against the West can take many forms, and things are not always what they seem.
Conflict in the Middle East is an example. Like America, Israel has been fighting for its survival since it was first founded and must continue to do so. Both countries are founded on independence. That independence doesn’t manage itself: In this sense, war isn’t aggression — it is right — a right to survive and prosper; to dominate through principles and lead by a capacity to lead.
But it’s more than that. Much of the world can’t or won’t govern itself, and is willing to embrace a secular alliance against western society, whether it’s Africa, South America, India, or even parts of Europe. This risk also applies to Australasia, which is slipping under total Sino control. The West must fight. To quote Shaw again, it is more dangerous to lose than to win.
Matthew G. Andersson is a former CEO and executive advisor in aerospace and defense. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the University of Texas at Austin where he worked with White House national security advisor W.W. Rostow at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. He has worked in Russia, Europe and Australia.
Image: Tim Evanson, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed
