COA- Wars are fought twice. The first battle is fought with missiles, bombers and soldiers. The second is fought with headlines, television studios, think tanks and official briefings. The first destroys cities. The second constructs memory. For decades the West has excelled at winning both. Military superiority was reinforced by informational dominance. Washington and its allies not only projected power across continents; they largely shaped the language through which that power was understood. They decided who was the aggressor, who was the defender, whose violence was regrettable and whose violence was unforgivable. They possessed not merely armies but the authority to define reality.
