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Winning Without Collateral Damage

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photoThe new American way of war is all about precision-guided weapons and minimal civilian casualties. But, according to Max Boot, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, this strategy brings its own set of problems and challenges.

Max Boot argues that too much concern over civilian casualties leads to a longer, dragging war. The U.S. military should anticipate that in warfare, there's always collateral damage, regardless of how unwanted it is. The primary, most imperative goal for the U.S. troops, according to Boot, should be to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible.

Click the "Listen" link above to hear more about whether humane warfare is an oxymoron and how much the U.S. military should be restrained in conducting its war in Iraq.

Guests:

Max Boot, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "The Savage Wars for Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power"

Daryl Press, Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and Consultant to the Defense Department on Military Planning in the Persian Gulf.

This program aired on April 1, 2003.

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