Give War a Chance
| Author | Edward N. Luttwak |
|---|---|
| Published | July 1999 |
| Format | Article |
TL;DR — Luttwak’s 1999 Foreign Affairs essay arguing that premature cease-fires and humanitarian intervention prolong wars that would otherwise end in exhaustion or decisive victory.
Published in Foreign Affairs (vol. 78, no. 4, July/August 1999), during the Kosovo crisis, when Luttwak was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This copy is a ProQuest reproduction.
Under the heading “premature peacemaking,” Luttwak argues that although war is a great evil, it can resolve political conflicts and lead to peace when the belligerents are exhausted or one side wins decisively. Cease-fires and armistices imposed by outside powers — the UN Security Council, NATO — interrupt that process and let both sides rearm, prolonging the conflict. He extends the argument to UN refugee camps and to NGOs, which he says sustain combatants and perpetuate refugee populations, using examples from the Arab–Israeli war of 1948–49, the Balkans and elsewhere.
What it is: a widely cited and controversial essay by a well-known strategist in a leading policy journal. This copy is a database reproduction of a copyrighted article.
Where this came from
- A copy saved in October 2026.
9 pages. A PDF copy is held in Kyle’s private archive; it is not linked or shared here.