8 Apr 2024

Surely the most important question when a country goes to war is – What does success look like? Churchill the wartime Prime Minister left no one in any doubt “Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the new world, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.” Although this was obviously intended to unite and inspire the population, it was also an implicit invitation to persistent pacifists to speak up, stand up or, if necessary, flee. To Vera Britten, success was to be found in defeat. A singular opinion but admirably clear. “There is a strange lack of dignity in conquest; the dull, uncomplaining endurance of defeat appears more worthy of congratulation.” I am no geopolitics expert (I am no anything expert) but I would say that it is obvious that a nation under attack has a reasonably clear idea of what success looks like. If it is losing the war, this will change for the worse where a primitive form of survival becomes an aspiration. We can all look at Ukraine now and make up our own minds about that. Where nations are aggressors under the banner of morality, the definition of success is much harder. The US and its allies invaded Iraq...