This study examines the doctrinal definition of deterrence, reviews Bernard Brodie's deterrence theory and discusses the impacts of his theory upon state and nonstate actors. The study further defines the terms asymmetry and asymmetrical threats...
Innovations in military technology and organization have changed strategic and tactical methods of fighting wars. The U.S. Army AirLand Battle doctrine has revived the operational level to link strategic and tactical levels of war. The concept of...
This paper challenges the idea that the thinkers who developed the American Theory of Limited War prior to Vietnam were grossly in error. A framework for the elements of the theory is constructed through a discussion of the historical American way...
Napoleon once said, “The moral is to the material as three is to one.” What did he have in mind when he stated this famous aphorism? Material factors are easy to calculate. This is the science of warfare. Organization, equipment, doctrine,...
Perhaps one of the most controversial theories proposed by the l9th century military theorist and historian, Carl von Clausewitz, was the proposition that the defense, not the offense, was the stronger form of war. This is the second of two...
This monograph examines under what circumstances, if at all, an air campaign can achieve decisive results independent of other forces. The recent war in the Persian Gulf has given the research question its immediate significance. Given the...
This study uses the development of steam propulsion in the United States Navy as a case study for how new technology affects the strategy of the United States at the operational and strategic levels. Using the modern paradigms of operational and...
Changing doctrine to keep pace with the evolving world situation is imperative. The U.S. Army is updating its operational doctrine by rewriting FM 100-5 Operations. The authors of the new doctrine have attempted to balance necessary change and...
This monograph examines the influence of population growth in the developing world on the U.S. Army's mission within the national security strategy. The U.S. military in general and the U.S. Army in particular will not be the only, or even the most...
The United States has maintained a Triad of strategic nuclear delivery systems since the early 1960's. This Triad includes strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), and submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). The...
Much of today's contemporary military writing, official literature and discussion focuses on structuring the United States military to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Included in this effort is much concern about the concept of...
This monograph examines the criticality of the operational end state to the conduct of operational warfare through a theoretical and historical analysis from which conclusions concerning current doctrinal treatment of the operational end state are...
This monograph examines the nature of Allied strategic bombing on The Netherlands in the Second World War. It discusses the endless controversy on strategic bombing and classifies its discourse into six different narratives. It adds the policy of...
This monograph suggests an airpower theory that helps explain why airpower does not result in quick, clean, economical, "ideal" war. The genesis of this study comes from the observation that airpower advocates, from early personalities such as...
This paper addresses the issue of whether the use of tactical nuclear weapons in a war in Europe will bring about a tactical stalemate or "gridlock." The TRADOC Common Teaching Scenario is used for a guide as to the area, forces employed, general...
Nation states develop and pursue foreign policy based upon their national goals and interests. In their attempts to realize these goals and because of different perceptions of reality, competition develops which may even lead to conflict. An...
It is dangerous to assume that in today's operating environment, a universally accepted definition of what war is, and what war is not, is readily available. While most Soldiers and policy makers claim to know war, "knowing it when they see it," is...
More than 60 years since the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula, the United States Armed Forces continue to stand by the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines of the Republic of Korea in an effort to deter further North Korean aggression. The...
After toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein in a few weeks, the decisive operational maneuver victory was not enough to defeat the enemy’s will to fight. Instead of challenging US forces in a conventional military battle, the enemy has now sought...