The Role and Utility of Military Power and Theories of Power Application

Abstract

The paper examines the role and usefulness of military power in a world made too dangerous by nuclear weaponry. The only sane policy for the contemporary use of US military power is deterrence across the entire spectrum of conflict. While there is no alternative but to deter general war, lesser wars will break out from time to time, which the super-powers must work to keep limited. Deterrence of limited wars is most credibly accomplished through possession of the capability to defeat them should deterrence fail. Some issues pertaining to deescalation and war termination are presented, followed by a final section on the use of US military power to achieve the Nation's mid and long range objectives.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 1972
Accession Number
AD0764418

Entities

People

  • King J. Coffman

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alliances
  • Case Studies
  • Cold War
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Measurement
  • Military Strategy
  • Mobilization
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies