By Brian T. Kennedy Posted March 20, 2003

America is at now war to defend the principle that it will be our decision, and ours alone, as to how best defend our country. Iraq may be liberated in the process, but it is the defense of America that is foremost in the mind of the President, and should be first in the minds of the citizens of the United States.

From the earliest days of the Claremont Institute, we have examined the strategic requirements of the defense of the United States. Men like Patrick Garrity, Christopher Flannery, L.P. Arnn, J.D. Crouch, Stephen Cambone, and Peter Schramm wrote for an Institute publication called Grand Strategy: Countercurrents. In Grand Strategy we examined the hard realities of the Cold War, describing the threat of the Soviet Union and what would be required if we were to remain a free republic.

The executive editor of Grand Strategy was Harold W. Rood. Dr. Rood is Professor Emeritus at Claremont McKenna College and was once described by our Harry V. Jaffa as the most influential professor in the history of the college. His students, those named above and many others, are among the most important strategic thinkers in America. Today, they occupy important positions in business, government, and the academy.

Dr. Rood's thought is always unconventional. It seeks an historical and strategic perspective. It always begins and ends with concern for the well-being of our country. It looks for strategic purpose in concrete facts and from them seeks to penetrate into their mysterious secrets.

I asked Dr. Rood for his analysis of the current situation in Iraq. "The War for Iraq: A Study in World Politics" is an explanation of how the current conflict fits into the strategic defense of the United States. It is essential reading not merely for dealing with Iraq but for how to think about U.S. strategy. I encourage you to read it on the Claremont Institute's website, here.