Philosopher as a soldier

Israeli general as a philosopher-soldier

The Israeli Defense Force’s Brig. Gen. Herzl Halevi is a man after my own heart, it would seem.

You see, I like philosopher-soldiers. They make great leaders in my experience.

I knew one once in the US Army … Gen. Carl Steiner. He was a special warrior in more ways than one (He not only was commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps but also served as commander of US Special Operations Command), but the thing that always impressed me about him was his depth. He was an amazing fellow that knew that once you passed a certain rank in the military you not only had to worry about enemy minefields but the political ones as well.

I interviewed him several times at length during his stint as commander of 18 Corps, including a special one-hour interview with him after Just Cause about how the operation was pulled together and executed under his command.

What is a philosopher-soldier? One who understands the true nature of war, its price and its necessity.

Like Gen. Halevi said, wars and military operations don’t necessarily solve problems, but sometimes they are the price you have to pay.

There are no simple wars, he told the New York Times in the above article. AMEN to that.

And all you can do is hope that the one you are fighting now is decisive enough to deter the next one for as long as possible because there will be a next one, and one after that, and one after that, ad infinitum. It is the human condition and no matter what you do or say, that is not going to change.

So in peace, as more than one brilliant military leader has observed, the best way to preserve that peace is to be prepared to fight, to wage war, better than anyone else.

The Americans have done that for the past 60 years or so, after relearning in 1950 that the era of wars was not over. It still is not over, despite what we might want or hope.

The problem with the American Way of War for the past 60 years (with a couple of minor exceptions) is that we have not come to battle intent on making it decisive. No, that would be too costly or too heavy-handed. We must be proportionate to the threat or some such nonsense.

Understand, I am no warmonger and I doubt any real “professional” soldier – which I was not; I just trained part-time for many years to be able to survive possible combat – is. I do, however, having witnessed the impact of battle first hand appreciate the costs of war. It is not pretty. It is not something to seek glory from. It is not something to enter into lightly.

Having said that, war sometimes is a necessary evil that outweighs the other options. You may not agree, but then we will have to agree to disagree. Some people just don’t or won’t respond to talking or negotiating in good faith. Compromise to them is not an option.

Israel faces that dilemma. An enemy that refuses to take yes for an answer. Unfortunately for Israel, the only solution it seems that is acceptable for those who oppose it is for Israel to cease to exist. And people like Gen. Halevi are not going to let that happen. His roots in Jerusalem go back 15 generations and I think he is entitled to stay there.

The Palestine problem is complex and far beyond my meager views to be able to solve. I do understand both sides wanting the thrice-promised land. Partition has been tried and offered several times, but it is never enough it seems to me.

But isn’t that indicative of the human condition? Are we never satisfied with what we have? Don’t we always want more? Don’t we always expect that we should be given more?

It seems to me that it doesn’t matter what culture or society that you have grown up in, the desire for more is always there. I may be wrong and I expect that you can cite instances where there are social groups where people do not want to improve their lot and those of their offspring. However, I would say those instances either represent very, very small groups of people or are aberrations that either collapsed due to their own internal contradictions or were unable to compete against aggressive neighboring societies.

Still, to me, the soldier who knows and understands philosophy – not just Western philosophy but the philosophes of different cultures (especially those of potential enemies) – is far better equipped and prepared for the next war … and there will be one.