Traditional Military Logic is Reversed, and Trump Leads the Charge

Instead of viewing war as a continuation of policy, the U.S. president is saber-rattling, using force to forge agreements. Attacking the Houthis, pressuring Gaza and overtures to Russia are all part of a single campaign against Iran. A dramatic reversal is currently unfolding before our eyes. The legendary maxim of Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz from about 200 years ago, which long ago became axiomatic, that war is merely the continuation of politics by other means, is being supplanted by a radically different worldview, exemplified in thought and action by President Trump. This new approach, diametrically opposed to Clausewitz’s…