Campaign Planning; Considerations for Attacking National Command and Control
Abstract
This monograph discusses five considerations for campaign planners to use in planning attacks on an enemy's command and control (C2) system. Development of the considerations focuses on the top military and political leadership as the most lucrative component of a C2 system for attack. The five considerations are the enemy's type of government, the identity of successors (if any), the desired state at war termination, the legal constraints, and the moral considerations. These considerations do not provide a 'cookbook' approach. Issues raised while examining one consideration interact with issues in other considerations and the strategic goals. Using the considerations as a guide will provide a wide look at the issues involved add reveal relevant and irrelevant aspects of the situation. Finally, the considerations are applied to three recent conflicts Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 conflict between a U. S. led coalition and Iraq; Operation Just Cause, the 1989 U. S. conflict with Panama, and Operation Eldorado Canyon, the 1986 U. S. attack on Libya. Each of these conflicts included attacks on top Political leadership. Application of the five considerations to these three cases clarifies the connection between U. S. strategic goals and the tactical application of force in each conflict. Campaign Planning, Panama, Target Selection, Command and Control, Libya, Operational Objectives, Political Leadership, Iraq, Operational Level of War
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 11, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA284186
Entities
People
- Robert C. Hood
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College