Hope is a Strategy

'Hope is not a strategy," said Sen. Hillary Clinton to Gen. John Abizaid during congressional testimony on the way forward in Iraq. This same warning was the title of a book, Hope is not a Method, by former Army Chief of Staff Gordon Sullivan that argued for hard decisions to transform our Army in the 1990s.

Hope, it seems, has fallen mightily from its pedestal as one of the three great virtues along with faith and love. I am not against Sullivan's thoughtful prescriptions for building our military, nor do I disagree with Clinton about the need for solid planning and purposeful action in wartime. I just think that hope is not the culprit here. Maybe during this season of hope we could reconsider hope's meaning in our strategic dialogue.

Webster's tells us that hope is a desire for something with an expectation of its fulfillment. Hope is not wishful thinking, which is what the general and senator were really referring to. Hope lies between certain knowledge of something happening and wishing something would happen. It is the expectation of fulfillment that sets hope apart from wishful thinking.

Hope is a confidence that something can happen if one works hard enough to make it happen.

No one is more a realist than a soldier in war. He understands very well the importance of planning, rehearsal and effort to a successful mission.

But, he also knows that "stuff" happens and nothing is guaranteed. A soldier is naturally full of hope: hope that he and his buddies will survive the next patrol, hope that he will get home when his duty is done, hope that his family is safe while he is away, hope that what he is doing will make a difference.

A soldier without hope thinks his life is meaningless and the consequences of his actions are irrelevant. A soldier without hope is a dangerous person.

Hope, along with faith and love, are the greatest virtues a person can possess. Hope should infuse everything we do in war. Our nation's goals should inspire hope in the soldiers and civil servants we ask to accomplish them. Our operational plans should engender hope for success in our citizens back home. And our actions in war should create hope where there was none among the people we are liberating. Our strategy should be all about hope.

The holiday season is hope's time to shine. Whether it is reflected in Hanukkah's inextinguishable candle, Christmas's virgin birth or New Year's resolutions, hope moves center stage for Americans. For many people around the world, America itself is a symbol of hope. How unfortunate that we are slow to embrace hope as an active part of our strategy.

We should excuse the general if he reveals in testimony that he still has hope for success in Iraq. It is a virtue that is hard to conceal. It would be better if that virtue were more evident elsewhere the rest of the year as well.

Retired Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan is a senior fellow with the BelferCenterfor Science and International Affairs at Harvard's JohnF.KennedySchoolof Government and a 29-year veteran of the Army. He wrote this commentary for the OrlandoSentinel.