Advice to war presidents

by Angelo Codevilla

"Of Woodrow Wilson's successors, only the first three escaped the role of war president. While these leaders have committed America to the pursuit of peace, they have involved us in seemingly endless wars. The American foreign policy establishment's several "schools" have jointly misguided our presidents with myths that have worsened these conflicts: that foreign peoples always share American ideals; that peace is simply the absence of conflict rather than the tenuous result of victories; that diplomacy is a substitute for force; and that wealth is everyone's overriding goal. Our establishment's very language obscures reality. The result is that even as American forces win battle after battle, we leave ourselves and the world less secure." "In Advice to War Presidents, Boston University professor Angelo M. Codevilla offers a primer on the essential principles of international relations. Drawing on the ancient wisdom of figures such as Thucydides and Herodotus as well as modern leaders