Strategist Christopher Kolenda Addresses Lessons of Past U.S. Wars as Venezuela Situation Unfolds

Author of Zero-Sum Victory Points to Patterns from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, January 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As U.S. officials assess the strategic consequences of the recent operation to detain Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, long-standing questions about how military action translates into durable political outcomes have returned to the center of American foreign policy debate.

Retired U.S. Army Colonel and war studies scholar Christopher D. Kolenda, author of the award-winning Zero-Sum Victory: What We’re Getting Wrong About War, says the moment underscores the importance of recognizing recurring patterns in U.S. strategy before early tactical success gives way to longer-term risk.

“Vietnam. Iraq. Afghanistan,” Kolenda said. “One failure is a tragedy. Two suggest coincidence. Three reveal a pattern. The question is whether the United States recognizes those patterns—or repeats them.”

Zero-Sum Victory examines how persistent misalignment among political objectives, military strategy, and local realities narrowed U.S. leaders’ options and increased the risk of prolonged and costly outcomes across multiple conflicts. The book brings renewed attention to those lessons as policymakers, military officials, and allies weigh next steps in Venezuela and consider how to avoid preventable strategic errors.

“When the same strategic errors recur across decades and continents, they are no longer anomalies,” Kolenda said. “They are indicators.”

Rather than arguing for or against specific policy choices, Zero-Sum Victory focuses on how flawed assumptions, institutional incentives, and decision-making blind spots have shaped outcomes—and how leaders can better manage uncertainty, escalation risk, and long-term political costs in the aftermath of major military actions.

“In the wake of an extraordinary military success,” Kolenda said, “there is often a temptation to mistake momentum for strategy.”

INDIES recognized Zero-Sum Victory as the #1 War and Military Book of 2021. Kolenda holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College London and is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

About the Author

Christopher D. Kolenda, Ph.D., is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, combat veteran, and strategic consultant. He led U.S. troops in Afghanistan and later advised U.S. and allied leaders on strategy and decision-making. He is the author of several books on leadership and war, including Leadership: The Warrior’s Art, The Counterinsurgency Challenge, and Zero-Sum Victory.

Christopher Kolenda
Chris Kolenda Consulting
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