“What is the objective of war? Peace”: Rep. Derrick Van Orden discusses “sneaky war”

America should use different levers of power to wage irregular, or “sneaky,” warfare, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.) said during a Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) talk last week.

America should use different levers of power to wage irregular, or “sneaky,” warfare, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.) said during a Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) talk last week. Joined by a small group of national security professionals, including strategy expert Dr. Sean McFate, the talk illuminated several real-world examples of how the United States can emphasize America’s constitutional strengths relative to authoritarian states. 

“One example the United States could have conflated in the information environment was in the fall of 2022 when Chinese citizens watched the World Cup broadcast where a stadium of fans gathered without masks for COVID and weren’t sick, or being castigated for congregating,” David Cook, SOAA’s executive director, told the Washington Reporter. “This put the Chinese authoritarian government on its heels for lying to a nation about the dangers of COVID. The United States could have fanned those flames with truth.” 

Van Orden asked McFate what the objective of war was, before answering his own question: the goal of war is peace. McFate advocated for more, and better, use of irregular warfare, while Van Orden’s advocated for overwhelming American strength. 

“They’re both correct,” Cook noted. “Irregular warfare gives leverage in the path to strength. The real strength of the United States was on display in the Eisenhower room of the Capitol Hill Club last week: the freedom to assemble and disagree without fear of recourse.”