America on the Offense: A New Manifest Destiny
Abstract
When the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and an international rush to abandon communism the stage was set for a profound change in US national security strategy. As of this writing, the basic framework of the new "post Cold War strategy" has been in place for seven years. Yet military officers remain confused and opinion is divided over its fundamental nature and intent. This monograph explores the historical nature of offensive and defensive strategy and compares current strategy to that from the Cold War to see if a shift in its offensive versus defensive orientation has occurred. It provides a historically based evaluation of the nature of both Cold War and current national security strategy. At its core, this monograph explores the possibility that America has embarked on an undeclared--even recognized-strategic level offensive since the end of the Cold War. Beginning with a representative overview of military theorists, the timeless characteristics of offensive and defensive strategy are distilled into a single broad set of principals. The study surmises that defensive strategy can be detected by its emphasis on denial and enforcement of the status quo while offensive strategy is a rejection of the status quo and-as Sun Tzu stated most clearly-a move to "take all under heaven intact." These principals form the criteria for a test against which both Cold War and current national security strategy are evaluated at their highest level of intent.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA382240
Entities
People
- Mark F. Duffield
Organizations
- United States Department of the Air Force