when to go to war

Eliot Cohen does a valuable public service in the Wall Street Journal by debunking the so-called Weinberger Doctrine's "tests" for deciding on going to war.

Weinberger’s vision of warfare has never held up well to scrutiny, and it would be a mistake for President Trump, or any other commander in chief, to follow it.

I'm glad someone of Cohen's conservative thinking and strategic expertise says this, because for many years Weinberger's views, slightly adapted by Colin Powell, have been widely accepted in U.S. military circles.

It's useful to remember that President Reagan never endorsed Weinberger's approach. His Secretary of State, George Shultz, called it "a codification of the Vietnam syndrome" that would not allow America to fight terrorists.

Cohen lists a much better alternative set of considerations. I hope Trump heeds them.