ABSTRACT
Limited conflict sor, perhaps more appropriately, limited peace, is the normal condition of mankind; certainly more normal than total peace or total conflict. The nation-in-arms and concepts of national and total mobilization are relatively recent phenomena in the history of conflict. The potential for conflict in the future is, as always, high and higher yet that it will be limited. On the other hand, for those personally involved in combat, ‘limited’ is seldom an apt description. It seems to me that limited war is somewhat like minor surgery. When a surgeon slices your neighbor or one of his family members, it's minor surgery; when a surgeon slices you or your family, it's always major. It makes little difference what procedure the surgeon accomplishes or what organ the surgeon repairs. Similarly, limited war is one that typically involves your neighbors; your vital interests are not at stake. One can be much more dispassionate about limits in a war that involves only one's neighbors. This analogy is not scientific; it is not analytical, but it does capture the essence of a useful idea. A nation at war, even a war with limited objectives and limited resources, is going to find almost unlimited commitment of its national media to covering the war effort. War will be the story of the time and media resources will follow accordingly. Limited war is an operative term for the military, it is only a descriptive term for the media.
