Total war


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Total war (not: totalitarian war) is a method of warfare where anything
connected to one's enemy is attacked. The object of total war is to
demoralize the enemy so that he surrenders. This necessarily includes
indiscriminate bombing of civilian centers and targets of opportunity with
no inherent military value. Strategic bombing is usually a major part of
total war. Total war has sometimes been compared to terrorism. The
effectiveness of the total war strategy is debatable. Very few nations have
ever surrendered before they were soundly defeated militarily. Damage to
civilian infrastructure is largely ignored, or counter-productively bolsters
morale. Simply having the ability to kill or inconvenience enemy civilians
has not been shown to be a reliable path to victory in and of itself.

The concept of total war was put forth in writing in Karl von Clausewitz'
posthumously published book On War (1832). It was used in the Spanish Civil
War and World War II. In response the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 is
intended to protect civilians during time of war.

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Total war is also used to describe devoting all of a nation's resources to
fighting a war. Production of civilian products and luxuries are minimized
to concentrate on the war effort.

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Michael Ledeen, a neo-conservative thinker and a strong influence on the
Project for a New American Century, defines it as follows:

"Total war not only destroys the enemy's military forces, but also brings
the enemy society to an extremely personal point of decision, so that they
are willing to accept a reversal of the cultural trends... The sparing of
civilian lives cannot be the total war's first priority ..."

"The purpose of total war is to permanently force your will onto another people."