Before the First Shots Are Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield

by Tony Zinni, Tony Koltz

Overview

For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the World's Police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, from combat in Vietnam to peacekeeping in Somalia, to war games in Washington, DC and negotiations with former rebels in the Philippines, retired four-star General Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war—or not—more clear-eyed and ultimately successful. He examines the relationship between the executive and the military (including the difference between passive and engaged presidents); the failures of the Joint Chief of Staff; the challenges of working with the UN, coalition forces, and NATO; the difference between young, on the ground officers and less savvy senior leaders; the role of special forces and drone warfare; and the difficult choices that need to be made to create tomorrow's military. Among his provocative points:

* Virtually every recent American military operation follows a disconnected series of actions that lead to outcomes we never foresaw or intended.

* We need to assign accountability for the political decisions that can make or break a mission.

* Words and ideas are as important to victory in today's conflicts as bullets.

* The cyber "war" is ongoing. Either you must build better tech than the other guy, or you must steal it.

* Our foreign aid budget is pitiful, our State Department, USAID, and the other government agencies that we critically need to be on a par with our military are underfunded, undermanned, and poorly structured for their current objectives.

From the Oval Office to the battlefield, Before the First Shots Are Fired is a hard-hitting analysis of the history of America's use of military action and a spirited call for change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250075055
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

General Tony Zinni (Ret.) was Commander in Chief of CENTCOM and special envoy to the Middle East. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, Nightline and Charlie Rose, among others.

Tony Koltz co-authored Tom Clancy’s Into the Storm and Battle Ready, with General Zinni.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Introduction

One...................................................How the Hell Did We Get Here?

Two.................................................. A Day Which Will Live in Infamy

Three.................................................Knowns and Unknowns

Four...................................................The Buck Stops Here

Five...................................................Europe First

Six....................................................My Fellow Americans

Seven................................................Two and a Half Wars

Eight.................................................The New Battlefield

Nine..................................................Body Count

Ten....................................................Endings and Outcomes

Eleven...............................................America and the World

Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

A useful guide for anticipating the complexities of the modern battlefield.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

07/07/2014
Distinguished U.S. Marine Corps General (ret.) Zinni argues that the key to the U.S. military’s success in battle lies in a combination of strategic decisions and actions that occur off the battlefield and often before the battle begins. Zinni illustrates his primer on the basics of formulating national strategy with examples taken from more than 50 years of military and national security experience. His full-bore critique of presidential administrations is organized chronologically from Kennedy to Obama. In the course of his analysis, Zinni names names and makes some bold and controversial assertions (for example, the U.S. has been too quick to use military force in the past and most civilian politicians are not knowledgeable enough to make correct decisions regarding war or strategy without professional advice). He offers several solutions to the issues he raises, including the creation of a professional, civilian-led national security corps, and a complete legislative reorganization of the military’s administrative departments to force “whole of government” strategic approaches to solving problems of national security. Zinni insightfully criticizes the decision-making process behind our national strategy and makes recommendations worthy of consideration. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-07-01
A retired four-star Marine Corps general examines how warscan be lost before they've even begun.In his latest collaboration with co-author Koltz (Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons fromthe Battlefield to the Boardroom, 2009, etc.), Zinni brings his fivedecades of military experience to bear and draws on lessons from past wars toset out vital preconditions for successful military intervention. No matter theprovocation for war, we must respond first with sound analysis. Intelligenceexperts must not only gather the pertinent data and define the problem, butalso provide the context necessary for sound decision-making. Second,responsible executives must look at all the options, the policy implicationsand consequences of any decision. Here, styles may vary—Zinni cites Eisenhowerand Truman as models—and depend on a variety of factors, but the president mustfind a way to fully comprehend the implications of any decision to use force.Third, we must design and implement a dynamic strategy that synchronizes theefforts of our political leadership, policy developers and operationalcommanders. Throughout, Zinni touches on a variety of topics: the critical roleplayed by any secretary of defense (thumbs up for William Cohen, down forDonald Rumsfeld); the need for strong legal, ethical and moral groundsanchoring any narrative arguing for war; the fashioning of a military forceadaptable to the mission; the proper role of contractors, the National Guardand Reserves; the necessity of meritocratic selection of combat leaders; theneed for overhauling national security structures, some of which date back tothe 1940s; the need to update our regional and global partnerships; and theimportance of words and ideas, "the battle of the narrative," to accomplishingour goals. If today's wars too often "end" not in victory but instead with anexasperated, "How the hell did we get here?" it's likely due to the fact that wehave ignored too many of the issues Zinni raises.A useful guide for anticipating the complexities of themodern battlefield.

Kirkus Reviews