The term “cut and run” can have different meanings depending on the speaker’s intentions. It can refer to a cowardly retreat or a strategic withdrawal to save troops and resources. The negative connotation was used during the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. The perception of the action matters to those responsible, but field commanders should have the freedom to make decisions based on battlefield conditions.
Sometimes the same actions can be performed in two different directions, depending on the speaker’s intentions. This is the case with the unofficial military term “cut and run”. Some would suggest that slash and run denotes a sudden or cowardly retreat in the face of superior enemy forces. Others would argue that a cut-and-run tactic is more akin to casualty prevention while forces are regrouped. Essentially, “slash and run” is short for “slash (your losses) and run (safely),” which can be good advice under the right circumstances.
The concept of strategic removal of forces or organized withdrawal is not new. Military strategists of the time of Alexander the Great always recognized the value of saving troops and resources by pulling them out of untenable positions. Rather than risk losing experienced or specialized troops in an asymmetrical combat situation, more than a few military commanders issued an order for troops to cut off and run. Critics of this maneuver routinely use the term “slash and run” pejoratively, often favoring a costly victory or stalemate over a strategic retreat.
The negative cut-and-run idea received some attention when President George W. Bush declared that his administration would not “cut and run” when it came to keeping forces in Iraq. Opponents of the war had repeatedly suggested a withdrawal of US military personnel, but Bush strongly believed that such a sudden withdrawal of troops would allow the insurgents to overrun the remaining Iraqi soldiers and ultimately overwhelm the Iraqi government itself.
The war on terrorism isn’t the only example where the term “slash and run” has appeared as a pejorative. As criticism of the Vietnam War reached a fever pitch during the late 1960s, many called for a unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces from the entire Southeast Asian region. In essence, the best military and political strategy would have been to remove American soldiers from direct combat almost immediately and allow local governments in the region to settle their differences. This suggestion of an organized cut-and-run solution led then-President Richard Nixon to outline his “Domino Theory,” in which the sudden removal of US military forces from Vietnam would allow communism to overthrow one government at a time and destabilize the entire region.
Whether a particular military action is considered a strategic retreat, tactical retreat, or “snip-and-run,” the public and political perception of that action may matter to those responsible. If battlefield conditions warrant a sudden and unplanned retreat to prevent further casualties, field commanders should have the freedom to make such decisions. Often the term “slash and run,” especially in a pejorative sense, is applied to the large-scale geopolitical aspects of an unpopular war, not to the day-to-day military operations actually conducted on the ground.
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