Word: clausewitzian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...major change in international relations Eban does observe is the decreasing effectiveness of force as another form of diplomacy. The use of the military has been reduced from its Clausewitzian role to that of a primarily defensive one. Eban observes that since 1945 no nation has won a war it has initiated (excluding preemptive strikes against inevitable aggressors) although unexplainably he omits North Vietnam's attack on South Vietnam from the list. The causes of this change are numerous. The nuclear threat lurks ominously over many conflicts and world opinion and support has often come to the side...
Sadat was a visionary with a talent for astonishing; he had a Clausewitzian instinct ("For great aims, we must dare great things"). He was also a profound, serene fatalist-which may have been the secret of his equilibrium. Such fatalism might serve others well now. Since 1970, 22 heads of state or government have been assassinated. As Theologian Paul Tillich remarked: "Death has become powerful in our time." -By Lance Morrow