Collecting to Win: ISR for Strategic Effect
Abstract
As the U.S. rebalances towards the Asia-Pacific, strategists and force planners will grapple with how to best pursue American policy objectives in the region. Financial constraints will limit their available means, placing additional importance on the creative use of existing resources. However, concepts rooted in years of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operationsif unquestioningly transferred to the Asia-Pacificrisk becoming cognitive strictures that limit strategic imagination. This monograph aims to broaden joint force thinking on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). It begins by defining ISR and differentiating it from intelligence writ large. Next, borrowing from airpower theory, it explores the relationship between ISR and strategy, concluding that ISR is an astrategic activity that may bring about strategic effects in three fundamental waysby informing strategy-making, by enabling necessary tactics, and by favorably shaping the operational environment. The paper then examines each ISR way against available historical evidence. Recommendations to improve the efficacy of ISR in the Asia-Pacific and beyond complete the essay. The project introduces several novel concepts, including ISRs a strategic character, ISRs three ways tocause strategic effect, ISR diplomacy, and ISRs observer-effect.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 13, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1019160
Entities
People
- Brian J. Tyler
Organizations
- Air War College