Lessons Learned from WWII

Jeffrey Record has an interesting analysis of the start of WWII with regards to the U.S. and Japan. His conclusions can be applied to the current war-torn world:

1. Fear and honor, “rational” or not, can motivate as much as interest.
2. There is no substitute for knowledge of a potential adversary’s history and culture.
3. Deterrence lies in the mind of the deterree, not the deterrer.
4. Strategy must always inform and guide operations.
5. Economic sanctioning can be tantamount to an act of war.
6. The presumption of moral or spiritual superiority can fatally discount the consequences of an enemy’s material superiority.
7. “Inevitable” war easily becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.