Americans have a problem with the word “war.” In the dictionary, war is an armed conflict between organized groups for political objectives. In the U.S., however, the word took has the connotation of absolute war, an interstate conflict aimed at the unconditional surrender of the other side.
To some extent this has always been true. Three of our five declared wars — the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War — weren’t aimed at unconditional surrender, but they were aimed at the territorial dismemberment of our opponent. Moreover, in all three cases, the declaration of war rapidly led to an escalation of American aims. The War of 1812 immediately became a war to drive Britain out of North America. The Mexican-American War started over Texas and ended in an American occupation — and were it not for Nicholas Trist the southern boundary of the United States would be several hundred miles further south. The Spanish-American War started with a very 21st-century “authorization to use force,” but Congress declared war after Spain declared it on us ... and soon enough the U.S. was in possession of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
What does this have to do with Libya? Well, Libya is a massive food importer. In a total war, even a casualty-averse total war, his enemies could starve him out. But we are not fighting a total war, and we obviously should not be fighting a total war. Since Libya imports about 75% of its food needs, this means that the U.N. is soon going to have to organize relief efforts at the same time that NATO is blockading his ports.
It will get stranger.
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