Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

256 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

Probablyasa resultoffrontierwarfare,Jacksonianopinioncameto
believethatitwasthespiritoftheenemynation,ratherthanthefight-
ingpoweroftheenemy'sarmies,thatwasthechiefobjectofwarfare.It
wasnotenoughtodefeatatribeinbattle;onehadto"pacify"thetribe,to
convinceitutterlyandtotallythatresistancewasandalwayswouldbe
futile anddestructive.Forthistohappen,thewar hadtogo tothe
enemy'shome:Thevillageshadtobeburned,foodsuppliesdestroyed,
civilianskilled.Fromthetiniestchildtothemostreveredoftheelderly
sages, everyoneinthe enemynationhad tounderstandthat further
armedresistancetothewilloftheAmericanpeople,whateverthatmight
be,wassimplynotanoption.Thetriballeadershiphadtomaintainan
irondisciplineoveritshotheadedyoungmen;halfa dozenteenagers
bandingtogetherona raidingpartywouldbringinstant,terrible,and
implacable retributiondown onthe entirecommunity, and perhaps
endangertheveryexistenceofthepeople.
Withthedevelopmentofairpowerand,later,ofnuclearweapons,
thislong-standingculturalacceptanceofciviliantargetingassumednew
importance.WilsoniansandJeffersoniansprotestedagainstthedeliber-
ateterrorbombingofciviliantargetsinWorldWarII;since 1945 there
has beenmuchagonizedreviewoftheAmericandecisiontouseatom
bombsagainstHiroshimaandNagasaki.Noneofthishand-wringing
hasmadetheslightestimpressionontheJacksonianviewthatthebomb-
ingswerejustifiedandright.DuringboththeVietnamandKoreacon-
flictstherewereseriousproposalsinJacksonianquarterstousenuclear
weapons;whyelsehavethem?TheonlyreasonJacksonianshaveever
foundpersuasivefornotusingnuclearweaponsisthefearofretaliation.
Jacksoniansalsohavestrongideasabouthowwarsshouldend."There
is nosubstituteforvictory,"as GeneralMacArthursaid;theonlysure
signofvictoryistheunconditionalsurrenderofenemyforces.Justas
JacksonianopinionresentslimitsonAmericanweaponsandtactics,it
alsoresentsstoppingshortofvictory.
Unconditionalsurrenderisnotalwaysa literalandabsolutedemand.
TheJapanese,forexample,wereassuredafterthePotsdamDeclaration
thatwhiletheUnitedStatesinsistedonunconditionalsurrenderand
acceptanceoftheterms,theJapanesecouldkeepthe"emperorsystem"
afterthewar.However,thereis onlysomuchgiveintheidea-allresis-
tancemustcease,UnitedStatesforcesmustmakeanunopposedentry
intoandoccupationofthesurrenderingcountry,andthepoliticalobjec-
tivesofthewarmustbeconcededintoto.