America and the Future of War: The Past as Prologue

by Williamson Murray

Throughout the world today there are obvious trouble spots that have the potential to explode into serious conflicts at any time in the immediate or distant future. This study examines what history suggests about the future possibilities and characteristics of war and the place that thinking about conflict deserves in the formation of American strategy in coming decades. The author offers a historical perspective to show that armed conflict between organized political groups has been mankind's constant companion and that America must remain prepared to use its military power to deal with an unstable, uncertain, and fractious world.Williamson Murray shows that while there are aspects of human conflict that will not change no matter what advances in technology or computing power may occur, the character of war appears to be changing at an increasingly rapid pace with scientific advances providing new and more complex weapons, means of production, communications, and sensors, and myriad other inventions, all capable of altering the character of the battle space in unexpected fashions. He explains why the past is crucial to understanding many of the possibilities that lie in wait, as well as for any examination of the course of American strategy and military performance in the future—and warns that the moral and human results of the failure of American politicians and military leaders to recognize the implications of the past are already apparent.

Genres: War, History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2017

About the author

Williamson "Wick" Murray was an American historian and author. He authored numerous works on history and strategic studies, and served as an editor on other projects extensively. He was professor emeritus of history at Ohio State University from 2012 until his death.

Reviews

[Heinz Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written by a long time academic who was devoted to the serious study of history (Political, Diplomatic, Military) is a badly needed polemic against the thoughtless, oft times fantasy prone, foreign policy of the past several decades and Administration's.
Far from merely excoriating policy makers, Williamson also sheds light on the sad truth that the intellectual study of war us all but absent, even looked down upon, in not only our military (as horrific as that is), but also the Intelligence Community.
Arguing that many of our recent failures, going back to Vietnam, are the fruits of an orchard riddled with systemic malaise. Politicians who are so highly educated as to know nothing of reality, and hence useless. Intelligence Agencies that know little, if anything, about the regions they are tasked to be acquainted with. So called experts who are nothing more than sycophants and yes folk to political ideologies rather than common sense and studied wisdom. And a military so riven with bureaucratic plague that it's a wonder any round gets fired sans ten tons of paperwork.
Williamson points out the unwillingness of a hierarchy to not only recognize reality, as was the case of the Obama Administration, but to blindly pursue disastrous policies precisely because they ignored historical precedents as in the junior Bush Administration. When married to a military convinced that technology is the panacea for all that ails, and it should not be an exercise in orbital physics to see why American foreign policy has been such a wasteland for far too long.
The author rightly makes the case that academia, the organ by which the policy makers of the future are trained, is less than useless. Far more concerned with the contrived claptrap of racial history, social sciences and doing everything possible to denigrate as many dead white males as possible, academia, which ignores military, political and diplomatic history, the Classics, and geography must be forced to share a major burden of the blame for failed American policy.
And, dare I say it, dead American service members, who died in lost causes.
This is a very short read, roughly 180 pages of main text, but an incredibly worthwhile one. It can only be hoped that it reaches a very wide audience.
Very highly recommended.

[William McCue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Williamson Murray tends to ebb towards a very much warhawk stance. I liked his interpretation of the past, but his view on the future was less agreeable. He was obsessed with the idea of learning Greek tragedies which was quite odd. He also made a statement that the taking in of Middle East refugees would increase terrorism in Europe, which in my opinion is blatantly untrue. Immigration tends to help economies and societies, as compared to hurting them.

[Tom Boyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty heady stuff plus it's dated by the events in Ukraine. I didn't agree with Murray's assessment of Russia as having even implied historic "ownership" (my word not his) over Ukraine. Absolutely no government in the year 2022 should think they have historical rights to another country. Period. Diplomacy should be the only resolution to territorial disputes.

[Jeffrey Alston · Rating 5 out of 5]

166 pages into it. A no holds barred, brutally honest look at national security policy and the American way of warfare....to include its warts. Refreshing and thought-provoking.

[Alex Bridgeforth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of the provoking thoughts about the future of warfare. It’s also interesting read as an Observer, Coach, Trainer here at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, CA where we are trying to train using many ideas and discussions mentioned in this book. It’s always good to keep the future in mind and sometimes at the forefront as you prepare for the unknown.