Mark Hertling
During my military career, I spent countless hours studying Carl von Clausewitz and other military theorists whose work still shapes how we think about war, strategy, and—just as importantly—how wars end. Their ideas remain relevant not because they offer formulas, but because they illuminate how human beings, governments, and armies act under pressure. Recently, I found myself asking: What would Clausewitz say about the quest for peace between Russia and Ukraine? Perhaps he might write a letter like the one below. –M.H.
Allow me, from a place beyond politics and beyond time, to offer some reflections as you undertake the difficult task of peacemaking. I have no objection to your pursuit of peace; indeed, I devoted much of my life to understanding its relationship to war. But I must caution you: Peace, like war, has an essence. It cannot be dictated by impatience, convenience, or diplomatic theatrics. It must be anchored in principles that endure after the cannon fall silent.
I have observed many leaders—kings, emperors, ministers—seek peace not because justice demanded it, but because they found war wearisome. Such efforts rarely end well. Given this, I ask you to consider not merely whether any plan you might conceive will produce a document signed on a dais by your president in your capital, but whether it will produce actual peace in Europe, and whether it protects the people whose lives and liberty hang in the balance.
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