Summary Of Why Has America Stopped Winning Wars By Dominic Tierney

In his article “Why Has America Stopped Winning Wars,” Dominic Tierney incorrectly asserts that the United States is in a period of unwinnable wars and that, as such, the United States should plan for battlefield failure and “losing the right way.”1 He uses multiple fallacies to build his argument, including appeals to emotion, appeals to questionable authority, explaining by naming, and searching for a perfect solution. This leads to the conclusion that the US position as a superpower is a weakness in terms of military engagement. This shortsighted position fails to encompass a holistic view that military engagements do not have to rise to the level of total victory to contribute to overall strategy. Tierney opens by recounting the stories …show more content…
Tierney questions the will and stamina of the American people, stating “America is a victory culture” only “comfortable with loss when it proves a temporary setback on the road to triumph.”5 To support this view of the American psyche, he quotes the famous passage from General Patton: “Americans play to win all of the time. That’s why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war, for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.”6 This combines emotional appeal with an appeal to a questionable authority, as General Patton is not in a position to speak on behalf of all Americans and his generalization cannot be taken as proof of an American “victory …show more content…
Searching for a perfect solution is defined as “falsely assuming that because part of a problem would remain after a solution is tried, the solution should not be adopted.”10 Additionally, the expectation of total victory may miss the entire strategic goal or prove unhelpful. Everett Dolman asserts that “the concept of strategic victory must be summarily discarded. This is not to say that victory has no place in strategy or strategic planning.”11 Military engagements are a part of total US strategy, and total victory is not always necessary to achieve the desired strategic outcomes. The military remains a vital part of overall US national strategy, and should be carefully used to meet strategy objectives. Success or failure should be measured against the achievement of overall campaign objectives from a whole-of-government perspective concerning the current conflict. Success or failure should not be measured against World War II. Planning for failure or for sustained conflict is vital when using military forces; however, these possibilities should not preclude its