Post by @benfulton@mastodon.london

2026-04-06 06:53 UTC

War is a tactical error &quot;This suggests a principle that ought to be obvious but apparently is not: any nation powerful enough to mount a serious military campaign is, almost by definition, powerful enough to pursue its interests through diplomacy, economic leverage, and strategic patience. The return on investment of war is almost always catastrophically negative compared to the alternatives. Even when you win.&quot; https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-war-failure/ #WorldPol

Replies (4)

@lobster@wehavecookies.social 2026-04-06 09:45

@benfulton Exactly so! Well said. Has to be repeated continually as the blatantly obvious.

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@ben@mastoart.social 2026-04-06 10:32

@benfulton hello, uh, I wonder though if the goals of war are really anything but war —- the economic value of the war is that they are expensive & an excellent way of taking money off the state and putting it in the pockets of military business. It also projects and enforces as view of the world which is highly beneficial to people like trump & Putin - ‘each of us is at war, all the time’ justifies their insistence of power and aggression being the foundations of the human unit

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@TeflonTrout@beige.party 2026-04-06 10:46

@benfulton An excellent digression on "War doesn't determine who is right, it determines who is left"

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@yora@mastodon.gamedev.place 2026-04-07 09:58

@benfulton It's not economically bad for the Profiteers. The nation pays the price to make some people rich.

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