With the conflict in Ukraine at a stalemate and the prospects of a Ukrainian “victory” dim, perhaps it would have been wise for our current administration to have followed the doctrine elaborated by Gen. Colin H. Powell before engaging in foreign conflicts.  As an infantry officer in Vietnam, Powell saw firsthand the lackluster effects of the Johnson and later Nixon administrations attempting to fight a protracted proxy war against the Soviet Union through gradual escalation, as opposed to an all-out effort to defeat the enemy.  Our military was burdened with extremely restrictive rules of engagement, and our force levels were only gradually increased to match those of our adversary.

Based on this experience, Gen. Powell formulated the “Powell Doctrine,” which postulated that America should resort to significant foreign military intervention only if political and military leadership could positively answer the following crucial questions:

1. Is the goal clear and vital to national security?  Is it achievable?
2. Do the American people support military intervention?
3. Is there a plausible and credible exit strategy to avoid perpetual war?

Under the doctrine, if the U.S. could answer yes to these questions, then decisive or even “overwhelming” force would be utilized against the enemy to end the war as quickly as possible and to minimize casualties.

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell under President H.W. Bush had the opportunity to put his own doctrine into action during the first Gulf War, or Operation Desert Storm.  Under Powell’s command, the nearly 1 million U.S. and coalition forces defeated a capable Soviet-trained enemy in less than seventy-two hours.

Contrast this today with the conflict in Ukraine, where it appears, after two years of incessant conflict and the expenditure of billions of dollars, that there will not be a clearly defined “winner.”  In addition, thousands of lives, both civilian and military, have been lost, and our current administration has yet defined for the American people a plausible strategy of end state other than “regime change” in the case of Vladimir Putin.

Had we followed the sage advice of Gen. Powell, perhaps we would not find ourselves in the position we are today as we meekly respond to Iran’s proxies and look over our shoulder as the People’s Republic of China advances in the west.

General Powell, we should have listened!

Image via Picryl.