Should Deterrence Fail: War Termination and Campaign Planning
Abstract
Our current operational doctrines display a serious blind spot with regard to the issue of conflict termination. War termination, however, deserves equal billing with other aspects of the campaign planning process and should be guided by a set of principles or guidelines which, like other dimensions of that process, are best considered in the earliest states of that process. Joint and separate service doctrines should address three major issues regarding war termination: first, conflict termination doctrine must assist planners in defining military conditions and relating those conditions to strategic aims; second, it must contribute to the tacit bargaining process inherent in the terminal phases of a war; and finally, it must offer guidance on how to transition from active hostilities back toward a state of peace. This paper suggests certain principles which, if incorporated into our doctrines, would satisfy these doctrinal requirements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 05, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA270622
Entities
People
- James W. Reed
Organizations
- Naval War College