When Should America Fight?

Donald M. Snow is Professor Emeritus in Political Science at The University of Alabama, where he served on the faculty for 37 years. During that period, he was also Director of International Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences, Director of Faculty Development and Services within the Office of Academic Affairs, and Chair of the Tenure and Promotions Committee within the Political Science Department. He also served as Visiting Professor at the United States Air, Army, and Naval War Colleges and the Air Command and Staff College. Within the discipline, he served as national Chair of the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association and of the Arms Control and International Studies Section of the American Political Science Association. He was a frequent lecturer as professional military education schools and conferences sponsored by organizations such as the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. Snow has published over 60 academic books and monographs on international relations, foreign and national security topics for a variety of publishers. His most recent books include National Security, seventh edition (Routledge, 2020), The Middle East and American National Security (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021), and Cases in International Relations (ninth edition, Rowman and Littlefield, 2022 forthcoming). He resides with his wife of 52 years, Donna, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and has a son and three grandchildren who live nearby.

Preface

Introduction: The Withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Continuing Use of American Force

Introducing the IF Factor

Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Beyond

The New Way of Fighting: Asymmetrical Warfare

The IF Contribution

Conclusion: The Legacy of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Ukraine

Bibliography

Chapter 1: The United States in Vietnam and Beyond

The Context: Why Students Need to Know about War

The Post-World War II Evolution of Warfare

The Effects on Thinking About Warfare

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter 2: The Twentieth Century Legacy: The European Model of Warfare, the Impact of Nuclear Weapons, and the Transformation of the Uses of Force

The European Style of War

The Impact of Nuclear Weapons

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter 3: The Systemic Shock of 9/11: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Beyond

America in Iraq

The War in Afghanistan

Conclusion: The Past in the Future?

Bibliography

Chapter 4: Russia and Ukraine in 2022: The Face of Modern Mayhem?

Defining Parameters in 2022: The Ukrainian Case

The Incendiary Potential of the 2022 Crisis: A Presage to a Larger War?

And Then There is Putin

The War Worthiness of the Ukrainian Crisis: Before and After the Impact of Nuclear Weapons

Resolving the Ukrainian Crisis

Conclusion: The Nuclear Prophylactic?

Bibliography

Chapter 5: Contemporary Warfare and American Force: Conventional and Asymmetrical Warfare in the World

Fighting in the Developing World: The IF Factor in Application

Contemplating Involvements: The Challenges of Asymmetrical Warfare

Assessing the Prospects: The Middle East Quagmire as Rejoinder

The United States and Potential Deployments Beyond the Traditional Middle East Conflict

Asymmetrical Warfare 101

Asymmetry and the IF Factor

Asymmetrical Warfare Is Not Easy

The Dynamics of Defeating Intervention

Conclusions

Bibliography

Chapter 6: The Briar Patch of Intervention in a Complex Environment: The Developed World

Dealing with the Modal Threats

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Conclusion: The Legacy of Ukraine?

Bibliography

Chapter 7: Coping with Asymmetrical and Conventional Forms of War: The Challenge for American Expeditionary Force

“Traditional” War: Russia and Ukraine

Asymmetrical Pasts and Futures?

Asymmetrical Warfare in Europe?

The Ukraine War in Perspective

The Ukraine War, the American Response, and When America Should Fight

The IF Factor and the Ukrainian War

The Ukrainian Precedent

Bibliography

Chapter 8: Conclusion: Where Will and Should the U.S. Fight: The Road Ahead

The Recent Past as Prologue?

The Past as the Model of the Future?

The Ukrainian War

Asymmetrical War in the Developing World

Back to the Future: Where Should America Fight?

Peering into the Future

Projecting Forward

Bibliography