The Modern War Institute at West Point and the New Lines Institute hosted a multidisciplinary panel discussing the political and military challenges associated with conflict termination and withdrawal. No military strategy is complete without a plan for winning the peace. As recent American operations have shown, this can be one of the most difficult aspects of war with permanent occupation often untenable while early departure risks destabilization or creates a power vacuum. Topics of discussion included the status of armed groups and latent conflict in the Sahel, the termination of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, international intervention and conflict termination in Syria, and Russian withdrawal in the Ukraine War. Panelist remarks were then followed with a period of question and answer with the audience.
Watch the War Council in full below.
Image credit: Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen
I don't understand why Vietnam is so often neglected.
In the case, we went from 536,100 troops in 1968 475,200 in 1969, 234,600 in 1970,156,800 in 1971, 24,200 in 1972, and all out by early 1973. It worked.
I agree given the number of conflicts the Western Democracies strategise to lose the weight of military doctrine must move towards managing military defeat not military victory.
I suggest your bright minds lend themselves to finding out when and why the West decided losing a war was preferable to winning a war and can we afford to maintain this ethos in a growing power imbalance. Why? Our enemies may have learnt from history and have no qualms about winning and you may have noticed their propensity to moral shift leaves us for dead.
Please hurry.