This is a smart use of force - a way to use violence to set conditions of a diplomatic solution. Consider the recent example of eliminating Columbian FARC rebels with precision airstrikes. Sometimes, meeting violence with more effective violence is what it takes to give peace a chance. A coalition of the willing can build schools in Afghanistan, but a couple of jerks with rifles and a can of gasoline can reduce it to ashes.
Invading France to liberate it was an Allied triumph.ĭespite our best wishes and peaceful intentions, someone else with a gun can shape the future. Invading France to conquer it was a Nazi crime. Likewise, war is an extension of governmental policy - the better the policy, the better the war's outcome. You don't blame a screwdriver when someone uses it to break into a car - you blame the car thief. War is a tool that can be applied to many situations: to roll back aggression and deter aggressors, to end dictatorships, to stop genocide, or to protect the supply of commodities central to the nation's interest. But the "what is it good for? Absolutely nothing" line is entirely too simplistic. People have been conditioned to think that war is only wasteful and tragic. Dubois, Johnnie's history and moral philosophy teacher. "Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than any other factor, and contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst." You may not hear overly intense car salesman quoting from Starship Troopers anytime soon, but here are six reasons why the book is a practical guide to 21st century warfare. Like Sun Tzu's masterpiece, Heinlein's abounds with quotable axioms. There's a reason military academies like West Point recommend cadets read the book. It's a cool adventure novel with a soldier's eye view that doubles a treatise on modern warrior culture, the limits of military technology, and the awful glories of fighting infantry. The troopers drop from orbit one by one to wreak havoc on whatever target the Sky Marshal deems worthy of the attention. The tome chronicles the early military career of Johnnie Rico, who fights alien arachnids while clad in a heavily armed exoskeleton. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, published in 1959, is aging remarkably well.
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