Our "for Show" Military

William S. Lind has written a provocative article for The American Conservative about the American military, and for that matter, the formal militaries of China, India, Russia, etc. He says they've become irrelevant, like knights of old.

I won't recapitulate all his arguments here, you should read them for yourself. I believe he may be onto something. He says:

Real wars with important outcomes are now fought and won by ragtag militias, gangs, and tribes. They fight not for raison d’état; but for God, honor, loot, tribal pride, women—war’s age-old, pre-state causes.