Get the weekly SPARTANAT newsletter.
Your bonus: the free E-Book from SPARTANAT.
In an interview with the Austrian magazine "Frank&Frei" – we reproduce the interview with kind permission – Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld speaks about the current weakness of the West and the reasons for the frequent failures of Western armies. This is also the central theme of his book "We Weenies: Why We Can't Defend Ourselves and What to Do About It
SPARTANAT: In the rankings of the ten best armies in the world, the USA, Great Britain, France, and sometimes Germany always seem to appear. In your book "We Weenies," you lament that these armies have lost all wars in the past decades. Do such ratings have no relevance?
Martin van Creveld: It is. These armies are probably the best at conventional wars like the Falklands War or the First Gulf War. But most wars are no longer conventional, and these wars are the ones these armies have lost. The deployments of the German Bundeswehr were terrible. Why should a German soldier risk his life so that Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, or Israelis no longer fight each other?
SPARTANAT: Was the mistake in the objectives of these war deployments?
Creveld: Many of these interventions are simply incomprehensible to the ordinary soldiers. What are they doing there? This creates problems for the motivation of the soldiers. Motivation has always been one of the most important, if not the most important factor in war. Without motivation, faced with death, one will fail.
SPARTANAT: Is the technological equipment overestimated?
Creveld: In these wars, the side that is technologically inferior has almost always won, even if they paid a very high price for it.
SPARTANAT: You are thinking of India, Vietnam, Afghanistan ...
"Guerillas and terrorists are simply better. They were more motivated, more determined, more abstemious, more inventive."
Creveld: These are just the most famous cases, but there have been dozens of them. Many books have dealt with this. Some blame the misguided organization or the wrong objectives for the defeats, others think the politicians were too soft, the officers were inadequate, or public opinion was too critical. All that is correct. But ultimately, the guerillas and terrorists were simply better. They were more motivated, more abstemious, more determined, more inventive. You just can't get around that.
SPARTANAT: Are such asymmetric wars, in which a technologically superior civilization fights an inferior one, a specific challenge?
Creveld: Of course. This creates a completely different situation. Some politicians still have not understood how self-destructive such wars can be.
Soldier - Civilian: US Army.
SPARTANAT: The distinction between civilians and soldiers often disappears.
Creveld: Exactly. Thirty years ago, I coined the term "triple war." For interstate war, a clear distinction between government, armed forces, and civilians was characteristic, as Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) pointed out. From the second half of the 17th century, that's how war was conducted in Europe and later elsewhere. If you didn't follow it, it was considered a war crime. After World War II, this division collapsed.
SPARTANAT: Is it psychologically burdensome for soldiers not to know if they are shooting at soldiers or children?
Creveld: For the soldiers, this is a huge burden, especially because the enemy is so weak. It would be nice if we had conventional wars again, like the Falklands War, but in many ways, our situation resembles the Thirty Years' War. In Syria, there is actually no army, only various militias. Some are controlled by foreign powers. Turkey, Iran, Russia, the US - all are involved. No one knows who is who anymore. One thing is certain: civilians suffer terribly.
SPARTANAT: In the Gaza Strip or Lebanon, the distinction between soldiers and civilians disappears as well. How does Israel deal with this?
"One problem is: The army loses as long as they don't win. The guerilla wins as long as they don't lose. That's why there is endless war, knife attacks, suicide bombings, and rockets."
Creveld: This problem cannot be solved well, but Israel has solved it well enough to survive - so far. The effects on Israeli society are very harsh. One problem is: The army loses as long as they don't win. The guerilla wins as long as they don't lose. That's why there is endless war, knife attacks, suicide bombings, and rockets.
SPARTANAT: You see an important cause for the weakening of Western civilizations in feminism and gendering. Do you think the situation would be better if only men were in charge?
Creveld: Men have almost given up without a fight. Women need us men for two purposes: procreation and protection. Both are no longer needed today. We have become weak. That is perhaps the secret of feminism. It's no coincidence that Putin is against feminism. Russian soldiers are willing to do things that others no longer want or can do. In war, you need not only good technology but also people who are willing and able to slit throats. Perhaps the Russians have the best army today.
SPARTANAT: There were important female rulers in the past. What is the main problem with the role of women today?
Creveld: A society is born in which there is simply no room for men. You can hardly make a move or say a word without being accused of sexual harassment. Currently, the whole world is making fun of Europe, the US, and Canada. They say they are no longer men. They can't handle their own women. How should they fight? Feminism is the biggest and most well-organized envy of men in the world. Women always believe: what men do is more important and better than what they do. But they always start 100 years too late. If tomorrow, men jump off the rooftops, the women will follow them.
Women in the IDF
SPARTANAT: You criticize the inclusion of women as female soldiers in the army.
Creveld: The US Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (1862-1948) once said that you cannot treat a woman like a man. It doesn't work. When you have women, disciplinary problems start. One must draw a line, and that line is with the combat troops. Otherwise, in the long run, you will be left without men, because they will say: If women can do it, it's no longer an honor for me to do it. People take sports much more seriously than war today. There, no one lets men fight against women. The stands would be empty. Even in the gladiator games of the Romans, equally matched opponents faced each other. In the army, it's different because we no longer take war seriously.
SPARTANAT: Should migrants from patriarchal societies be recruited for our armies?
Creveld: That's how the ancient Romans did it. From the time of Augustus, they gradually allowed more Germans into their armies. Eventually, there was no Roman army left. Up to the commander, it consisted only of Germans and barbarians, and they no longer defended the Roman Empire. What was even worse: there was a separation between rulers and soldiers. Those who could fight could not rule, and those who ruled could not fight. This separation is very dangerous in the long run.
SPARTANAT: In your book, you criticize today's education in family and school: it leads to dependence. Is independence important for a soldier?
Creveld: War is characterized by uncertainty, more than any other human activity. That's why everything always goes wrong. Without independence, it's not possible. War requires the independent cooperation of all soldiers, from the simple soldier to the general. Furthermore, depending on the war and the enemy, the combat is very different. The ability and willingness for initiative and independent work are therefore essential. The main problem is: How do you combine independence with discipline?
SPARTANAT: Which armies have solved this problem the best?
Creveld: The German armies between 1870 and 1945. Ideally, discipline and initiative should mutually reinforce each other. That's the ideal. How to achieve that is a difficult question, and it also depends on the culture. You can demand certain things from a German soldier, but not from an American, and vice versa.
SPARTANAT: And Israel's army?
Creveld: Israel is the most undisciplined country I know. It used to be an advantage in terms of initiative. Today, I'm not so sure anymore. The main problem is: We have been fighting weak opponents for years, opponents that are so weak that they are not really considered real enemies. When you fight a weak opponent, you become weak. It's the same in the game.
"Many rules of the game apply to war and vice versa."
SPARTANAT: You have written a book about war games, suggesting that there is a lot of similarity between war and games.
Creveld: Many rules of the game apply to war and vice versa. In many ways, war is not a continuation of politics, but a violent form of the game.
SPARTANAT: You have a high opinion of the current Russian army. How do you see China's army?
Creveld: Hard to say. The Chinese have not fought a war for many years. They have never been a military people. The Mandarin (civil servant of the Chinese state administration) always stood above the military. It's a Confucian society, and Confucius was anything but a militarist. During a two-week visit, I met many young officers. Orders go from the top down, but no suggestions go from the bottom up. If China should find itself in combat, the lack of independence of the soldiers, in my assessment, will be a problem. They are not used to thinking independently. When they have to, they feel insecure.
MARTIN VAN CREVELD, one of the leading military historians of the present, was born in Holland in 1946. He has been living in Israel since 1950. He studied at the London School of Economics and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he has been a professor of history since 1971. Books include: "Fighting Power," "Faces of War," "The Sword and the Olive," "The Rise and Decline of the State,"... He also works as a military advisor and lecturer throughout the Western world.
Martin van Creveld on the Internet: www.martin-van-creveld.com
Martin van Creveld on SPARTANAT:
– How Daesh Should Be Combated
– Scientists, Journalists, Spies
This interview with Martin van Creveld was first published in the magazine Frank & Frei. We are publishing it here with the kind permission of the publisher. Thank you very much! Frank & Frei is available HERE.
SPARTANAT is the online magazine for Military News, Tactical Life, Gear & Reviews.
Send us your news: [email protected]
Ad
similar
Get the weekly SPARTANAT newsletter.
Your bonus: the free E-Book from SPARTANAT.
