Transformation and Strategic Surprise

Abstract

Though discounted by Clausewitz in the circumstances of his era, strategic surprise has enjoyed considerable popularity over the past century. The possibility of achieving decisive results from attacks launched on short, or zero, warning has appeared to improve greatly with advances in technology. It follows that surprise has been recognized as offering what seem to be both golden opportunities and lethal dangers. Since surprise is an ironbound necessity for the tactical success of terrorism, it is understandable that it attracts a major degree of attention today. There is no real novelty about this. After all, for 40 years the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies perpetually worried about surprise attack on the Central Front in Europe, as well as about a surprise first strike designed to disarm the United States of its ability to retaliate with its strategic nuclear forces.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA433054

Entities

People

  • Colin S. Gray

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Civil War
  • Cold War
  • Commerce
  • Defense Planning
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Intelligence Community
  • International Relations
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Second World War
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies