Reorienting the GWOT to Win the Moral Level of War

• Main Author: Reardon, David M
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADAPTATION; ASYMMETRIC WARFARE; CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ; COE(CONTEMPORARY OPERATING ENVIRONMENT); COLONEL HAMMES; CONFLICT; COUNTERINSURGENCY; COUNTERTERRORISM; ETHICS; ETHICS OF WAR; EVOLUTION OF WAR; EVOLUTION(GENERAL); FOURTH GENERATION WARFARE; GWOT(GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM); HUGO GROTIUS; INTIFADA; IRREGULAR WARFARE; JUS AD BELLUM; JUS IN BELLO; JUST CAUSE; LESSONS LEARNED; MAO TSE TUNG; MILITARY COMMANDERS; MILITARY HISTORY; MILITARY STRATEGY; MORAL LEVEL OF WAR; MORALITY OF WAR; NATURE OF WAR; NONSTATE ACTORS; SANDINISTAS; STATE ACTORS; TERRORISM; THEORY; THREATS; TRANSFORMATIONS; Unconventional Warfare; WARFARE

This paper seeks to examine the changing nature of war and the environment in which it is fought. That America is not applauding its successes at the physical level of war in waging the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), and does not perceive the threat to be significantly diminished, implies that there are other factors that are keeping America from the victory it seeks. This paper will identify two of these factors as the mental and moral levels of war and show how the changing nature of war and the environment in which it is fought also has changed the function of these levels when it comes to achieving victory. The decline of the role of the state and subsequent rise of non-state actors employing asymmetric tactics against states has made the moral level of war dominant over all others. The author seeks to propose a strategy for America to achieve dominance over its enemies at this level of war. The objective will be to expand the box that military thinkers rely on for solutions based on their experience, knowledge, and study of environmental factors. In doing so, it is hoped that they will come to see that the GWOT lacks moral legitimacy and that America is losing the GWOT at the moral level of war. The goal is to convince military leaders of the moral shortcomings of the current GWOT, convince them of the need to reorient their approach to this war, and provide them with the tools they need to reorient themselves to the constantly changing environment America faces in its unconventional conflicts. The original document contains color images.