Those Who Do Not Remember the Past are Condemned to be Bitten in the Ass by It
Putin clearly has learned nothing from history which teaches us waging war on civilians is ineffective and usually leads to self-defeat.
With Russia’s stepping up attacks against Ukrainian civilians and non-strategic targets, I reference my recent piece (“Massacring Civilians Doesn’t Win Wars”) on the folly and illegality of such actions. Clausewitz is shaking his head at Putin’s indiscriminate barbarity, which is not only inhumane, but hastens the material, human and moral exhaustion of Russian forces, not to mention his own demise. From Caesar to Hitler (and, yes, Churchill & FDR), history has taught us attacking civilian populations does not lead to victory; battling the enemy’s forces wins wars. But KGB Lt. Col. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, like most despots, will find himself on the ash heap of history for having disregarded this fact.
From my piece:
“History has proven two things: 1) wars are won based on, as Clausewitz asserts, ‘the destruction of [the enemy’s] forces,’ not on ‘blind aggressiveness,’ which will ‘destroy the attack itself, not the defense;’ and 2) committing atrocities only feeds the zeal of an enemy’s will to resist. Russian tactics and strategy in Ukraine — such as they are — reflect stupidity and ultimate self-defeat. The evidence includes a dozen Russian generals killed in action, the sinking of the prize ship of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet, the chaos in logistics, the massive losses of men, tanks and armored vehicles and the simple failure to achieve intended territorial gains much less regime change.
“Waging war against civilians is the recourse of cowards. Pursuing a victory based on breaking the will of the adversary, as opposed to undermining their military capacity to resist, is destined for failure. And then come the war crimes indictments.”
The opinions and characterizations in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent official positions of the U.S. government.
Fair enough as observations go. We touch on Putin's ahistorical comprehension during a wonderful discussion about free speech and fundamental liberties. https://youtu.be/0LpsNRLug9M