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Why winning a war is no longer necessary: Modern warfare and the United States of America through the prism of the wars of Vietnam and Iraq. Strobe Driver B.A. (Honours). This thesis is submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. School of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Humanities University of Ballarat P.O. Box 663 University Drive, Mt Helen, Ballarat, Victoria. 3353 Australia Submitted in July, 2010. Abstract This thesis explores the role of warfare and the United States of America (US) in contemporary times. Prior to this, however, pre-modern warfare is examined to illustrate its dynamics prior to the emergence of the nation-state. The Sixty Years War and the militias that fought it are used as an historical reference to combine the scholarship of military history and the sociology of warfare. These two themes underpin analysis throughout the thesis and establish a multidimensional framework of war as being dependent on many factors and variables. From the establishment of the nation-state in Western European two key components of warfare are considered: technology and organization. Technology is represented by the cannon and organization by the way in which militias began to be more strictly controlled. The greater bureaucratic organization of militias is addressed to the point of them forming standing armies, and this component is theorised up to the Napoleonic wars. A considerable chronological leap to World War II (WWII) then takes place to further examine technology and organization—which had developed into modernity— commensurate with the strategies of total war. After WWII the geo-strategic influences of the US, as a superpower, are addressed and airpower is singled out as the new technology of advantage. The Vietnam War is then investigated to observe how the US approached limited war and along with this, the growth of asymmetrical warfare. The US decisively winning the 1991 Persian Gulf War is placed in perspective, as are the problems of Gulf War II. This thesis is original because it steps beyond the boundaries of what war research has focussed on, which directly postulates victory or defeat in war is what provides unambiguous power-stakes. The thesis addresses why it is no longer necessary to win a war in order for power to be unambiguous and I contend, not needing to win a war, in the traditional sense of the term is the new objective of the US military, and the way in which this is accomplished is examined in detail. ii Statement of Authorship Except where explicit reference is made in the text of this thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been relied upon or used without due acknowledgement in the main text and bibliography of this thesis. Signed: Signed: Dated: Dated: Strobe Driver Dr. Jeremy Smith Candidate Principal Supervisor iii Acknowledgements As with all doctorates this has been an enormous intellectual challenge as well as a joy. When I embarked upon the pathway of completing this thesis I had no idea the people I would meet who have been such a fabulous help and it with this in mind that I write this page. First of all I would like to thank my colleagues with whom I have worked in the office of post-graduation and they are Kate, Christina and Demelza who have been wonderful bedrock to my sense of self when the times have been difficult, and I have enjoyed their help and happiness along the way. Another Kate and Laura have also assisted me in the journey to this point. The staff of the Research and Graduate Studies Office have also been of immense help in so many ways and I thank them immensely, especially Di Clingin and in the early days Sarah Murphy. I would also wish to express my sincere thanks to my Assistant Supervisor Dr. David Waldron for his insightfulness and care and Associate Professor John McDonald for his talented input. A very special thanks also goes to my Principal Supervisor Dr. Jeremy Smith, who has guided me along this path with encouragement and conviction and it is his insight and exceptional intellectual talent, that has enabled me to produce this body of work. My sincerest and heartfelt thanks for his input does not express my gratitude enough. Last but not least is my partner Dawn, who I met when I was early into this study and as I moved through it her encouragement and warmth, combined with her generosity of spirit, including her intellectual rigour, has much to do with me completing this document and feeling that the challenge was worth it. My deepest thanks is to her. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................... vii Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Significance of the study ...................................................................................... 12 Research questions ............................................................................................... 13 The Rise of the Modern Military ................................................................. 14 Preamble .................................................................................................................. 14 Warfare prior to sixteen forty-eight ..................................................................... 19 The ‘making’ of the nation-state: militia forces and influences .......................... 28 The Treaty of Westphalia: the birth of the nation-state ....................................... 35 The Treaty of Westphalia and warfare ................................................................. 40 The nation-state and war: institutionalization, organization, and keeping armed forces under control ............................................................................................. 48 The military is refined by the nation-state ........................................................... 53 Artillery and its ramifications .............................................................................. 60 Conclusion to ‘The Rise of the Modern Military’ ............................................... 66 During and After World War II: Warfare in Contemporary Times ...................................................................................................................................... 70 Preamble .................................................................................................................. 70 Artillery as advantage .......................................................................................... 71 The ‘organization’ of airpower ............................................................................ 73 Artillery then, airpower now: technology as overwhelming force in World War II .............................................................................................................................. 79 The Cold War ....................................................................................................... 84 Warfare and the Cold War ................................................................................... 86 The Cold War era and ‘total war’ ........................................................................ 89 The dangers of total war ...................................................................................... 93 The dangers of limited war ................................................................................ 110 Conclusion to ‘During and After World War II: Warfare in Contemporary Times’ ................................................................................................................ 112 Contemporary Limited Warfare: The United States and Vietnam .................................................................................................................................... 117 Preamble ................................................................................................................ 117 The limited war in Southeast Asia ..................................................................... 120 Limited war in Vietnam ..................................................................................... 122 Vietnam and its impact on the ‘face’ of warfare ................................................ 129 The downward spiral of the Vietnam War ......................................................... 140 Conclusion to ‘Contemporary Limited Warfare: The United States and Vietnam ............................................................................................................................ 148 The United States and Intervention After Vietnam ....................... 152 Preamble ................................................................................................................ 152 The perils of preponderance ............................................................................... 156 The macrocosm of Vietnam: influences on United States military supremacy . 161 After Vietnam: new plans for limited warfare ................................................... 167 Conclusion to ‘The United States and Intervention After Vietnam’ ................. 168 v United States Supremacy in Modern Limited Warfare:

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