Winning at War: Seven Keys to Military Victory Throughout History Paul C

Naval War College Review Volume 64 Article 14 Number 2 Spring

2011 Winning at War: Seven Keys to Military Victory throughout History Paul C. Krajeski

Christian P. Potholm

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Recommended Citation Krajeski, Paul C. and Potholm, Christian P. (2011) "Winning at War: Seven Keys to Military Victory throughout History," Naval War College Review: Vol. 64 : No. 2 , Article 14. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol64/iss2/14

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150Krajeski NAVAL and WARPotholm: COLLEGE Winning REVIEW at War: Seven Keys to Military Victory throughout History

than attend to its own core security in- offensive weapons. With each example terests on the continent. More optimis- the reader is able to understand better tically, he recognizes that the United the nature of the biological threat and States must remain open to debate on how truly difficult it is to control such a AFRICOM’s proper role. Thus he reca- weapon once in an aggressor’s hands. pitulates the sensible tone of this fine The United States has the most power- edited collection—hard-nosed but not ful military force of modern times but hopeless. is having a most challenging time de- JONATHAN STEVENSON feating an asymmetric adversary in Af- Naval War College ghanistan. When one considers the potential of a lesser state actor or a ter- rorist group to develop and use biological weapons against a militarily superior force, one is forced to ask when the use Koblentz, Gregory D. Living Weapons: Biological of this weapon will occur, not if. As Warfare and International Security. Ithaca, N.Y.: Koblentz astutely points out, “Biologi- Cornell Univ. Press, 2009. 272pp. $35 cal weapons were the first weapon pro- Gregory D. Koblentz, the deputy direc- hibited by an international treaty, yet tor of the Biodefense Graduate Program the proliferation of these weapons in- and assistant professor of government creased after they were banned.” and politics at George Mason Univer- This book is a must-read not only for sity, has written an outstanding analysis the professional military officer, diplo- of one of the most significant national mat, and politician but for the average security challenges of the modern era. citizen as well. It is for anyone who The author devotes five crisp chapters, wishes to gain a better understanding of writtenineasilyunderstandableterms, the current biological weapon threat to the complexities of the potential use and is interested in or responsible for of biologicals in modern warfare. protecting the nation’s vital interests.

He describes the national security im- ALBERT J. SHIMKUS, JR. plications of the potential use of biolog- Naval War College ical weapons by state actors as well as those with no state affiliation. One of the areas Koblentz addresses, in necessary detail, is the existence of many bar- riers to preventing proliferation of Potholm, Christian P. Winning at War: Seven biological weapons by states, nonstate Keys to Military Victory throughout History. actors, and terrorists. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. 304pp. $39.95 Koblentz uses case studies to review the biological warfare programs of Iraq, Winning at War is the product of over Russia, and South Africa, speculating forty years of academic inquiry into the on the strategic assessment of the risks nature of war by Christian Potholm, a and benefits each country may have professor of government at Bowdoin considered in determining whether to College. He proposes that throughout proceed with the development of these history there have been seven keys to

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Naval War College Review, Vol. 64 [2011], No. 2, Art. 14 BOOK REVIEWS 151

military victory: “superior weapons and military experience is necessary to write technology entrepreneurship, superior authoritatively on war. Like Sir Julian discipline, sustained but controlled Corbett, who never served in the Royal ruthlessness, receptivity to military and Navy yet became Britain’s foremost the- integrative innovation, the ability and orist on joint strategy, Potholm’s work willingness to protect capital from peo- deserves our attention because of his ple and rulers, the centrality of superior distinguished credentials. That being will, and the belief that there will always the case, what value does this book have be another war.” Drawing on an array to offer that cannot be derived from of historical examples from the Pelo- Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, or ponnesian wars to the present, Potholm contemporary works like Colin Gray’s builds a case that there is a predictive Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, formula for success. Application of this Peace, and Strategy (2007)? Unlike these formula depends on strict objectivity, classic authors, Potholm draws his con- which explains why he applies a tem- clusions from a comprehensive survey plate of Mars through which to analyze of military history of over 2,500 years, the decision for war, its execution, and being candid about his inclusion of final results. Viewing human conflict non-Western examples in the analysis. through the cold, dispassionate lens of Thus, the seven keys were derived from the god of war, for whom winning is all a vetting process that sought to elimi- that matters, advances the process of nate the constraining factors of time distilling war to its essence. and space. Yes, there is familiarity in The premise of this book is provocative each of the seven keys, but when con- for a couple of reasons. First, it may sideredcollectivelytheyprovidea seem to the student of military history unique, succinct guide for when to problematic that a scholar without avoid, initiate, conduct, or end a war. prior military experience would pre- Potholm addresses the book’s relevance sume to write authoritatively on war. by applying the template of Mars to the After all, many classics of military the- current war against “radical jihadist oryandhistorywerewrittenbyscholars Salafists.” Holistic application of the who cut their teeth on the battlefield, template leaves one hopeful about such as Carl von Clausewitz, Mao American potential for defeating this Zedong, and Sir Basil Liddell Hart, who type of “postmodern” insurgency. Ulti- areamongthosewithextensivemilitary mately, however, the author under- experience whose works are eminent to- stands that Mars is rarely pleased by the day in the classrooms of our nation’s way humans conduct war and that war service academies and war colleges. Sec- is a contest of wills that are subject as ond, the book provokes the curious to much to emotion as to rationality. The see whether the author really is on to objection to this book, if any, will be something, having produced a work of put forward by those who do not be- unique value for policy makers and mil- lieve that war is a fundamental part of itary strategists. the human condition.

In fact, the quality of analysis in Win- LT.COL.PAULC.KRAJESKI, U.S. ARMY ning at War debunks the myth that Naval War College

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