The Masks of War: American Military Styles in Strategy and Analysis

If institutions have identities and personalities, as they have been characterized here, then perhaps, like people, they may be changed by something other than constraints or trauma. If those who are members of an institution and those who deal with institutions understand why the institution behaves the way it does, then the ways of modifying that behavior equals or exceeds the number of people who have that understanding, for each can take actions, even if only for one's self, that will contribute eventually to change.... When we or those around us understand a certain kind of behavior, that behavior is likely to become modified.... The awareness, the understanding of behavior induces change.... Undesirable behavior is often cooperatively induced... [And], if both sides to that cooperative game become fully aware of what they are doing, and know that the other side also knows what is going on, they will generally both want to change that behavior. Likewise, much of the services' pretensions about altruism in the cause of national security are supported by cooperative behavior: Both the public and the services want to believe it, even if it mostly is not so, and behave accordingly. If we can deal with these institutions in the light of their personalities, we shall be looking past the masks they have used too long to hide their legitimate, but less noble, motivations and interests: the masks of war.