The events of the weekend are a clear demonstration of Clausewitz’s concept of friction: helicopters crash due to mechanical failure, a British Tornado is shot down by mistake, a supply convoy makes wrong turn is cut to pieces and American soldiers captured by Iraqi forces in place.
“A general in time of war is constantly bombarded by reports both true and false; by errors arising from fear or negligence or hastiness; by disobedience born of right or wrong interpretations, of ill will, of a proper or mistaken sense of duty, of laziness, or of exhaustion; and by accidents that nobody could have foreseen. In short, he is exposed to countless impressions, most of them disturbing, few of them encouraging.”
What was the proper response in Clausewitz’s view?
“Perseverance in the chosen course is the essential counter-weight, provided that no compelling reasons intervene to the contrary. Moreover, there is hardly a worthwhile enterprise in war whose execution does not call for infinite effort, trouble, and privation; and as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective. It is steadfastness that will earn the admiration of the world and of posterity.”
Keep the pressure on; the enemy suffers from friction too.
With modern media, it’s not just the general who suffers from countelss disturbing, discouraging impressions. We at home will suffer even more, as we have neither the experience or as reliable source of information as our generals. We don’t see the whole picture, nor do we even know what our battle plans are.
And in the Iraqi case, it may well be worse because the Iraqi leaders (and people) may well have an even more distored view of the battle. One could dismiss Iraqi claims of victories as propaganda, but they may accurately reflect the view from the top because fearful subordinates provide a rosy picture to higher ups to save their skin in the short term. Consequently, orders will be out of synch with reality and rather than coordinated action, a series of disorganized responses more easily dealt with will occur.
