The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World Book

One of the most far-sighted and at the same time down-to-earth studies of modern warfare I've ever read; General Smith is brilliant, and I would like to have served with him (wrong country's military, though, as he's British.)

If it is possible to take a stance on war that is simultaneously humane and ruthless, utterly pragmatic and deeply moral, this book illuminates that philosophy.

The author traces the evolution of how people have thought about and fought wars from the beginnings of history until now. He makes a strong case that due to habit, laziness of thought, and the prioritization of pleasing corporate campaign donors and pork-barrel constituencies rather than building the most effective military we can, we are absolutely ready to fight the USSR in Europe, which will never happen, but not at all organized, trained, or equipped to handle fourth generation warfare, i.e. what General Smith calls 'war amongst the people', and offers the Palestinean Intifada and the IRA's tactics in Northern Ireland as examples.

He is refreshingly candid about his own experiences, both some mistakes from which he learned and some deeply frustrating ones in which forces of which he was part were given an impossible mission in the Balkans, expected to bring about peace without being allowed to do more than make empty threats against the Bosnian Serbs until late in that war.

To sum it up, we're ready for high-intensity nation-versus-nation industrial warfare but not for what we've been facing since the end of World War II.

To the extent that recent events indicate things are getting better in Iraq, it's because General Petraeus is smart enough to take an approach that is basically the same as that recommended by this author, i.e. the military equivalent of beat cops doing community policing in neighborhoods vs. SWAT teams roaring in with guns blazing. Not nearly as dramatic but much more effective, and not nearly as hard on the civilian population caught in the middle.

Anyone interested in national security, military affairs, or the defense industry should read this book, at least once, preferably multiple times with a highlighter.