The just and necessary fight for Ukraine places recent disastrous wars of choice such as Iraq and Afghanistan into the squalid context they deserve. However, there are disturbing signs that western policymakers have not learned the most vital lesson of those conflicts – the necessity for clear objectives and an unambiguous strategy for success.
It may seem obvious, but it bears restating that this is a military campaign, and when it comes to military support the US is, if not the only player, by far the most significant. As matters stand the US has failed to articulate its war aims. We hear plenty about what the US “supports”, such as “Ukraine’s territorial integrity”. The US supports many things: human rights, democratic processes and so forth. These are not the same as its war aims. Nato’s aims in the Kosovo war of 1999, for example, were clear: Serbian forces out of Kosovo; a peacekeeping force and international civilian administration deployed; and a return of refugees. The objectives of the Gulf war of 1991 were even simpler: to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. It is worth remembering, and not coincidental, that these were the west’s last successful military campaigns.
