From Here to There: The Strategy and Force Planning Framework
Abstract
Several years ago, as one of the authors was making a formal presentation to the country team of the American embassy in Madrid, the senior political counselor (who was a graduate of the Naval War College) suddenly burst out, "Why should anyone care about strategy" It's hard enough dealing with policy, going from one crisis to the next!" To be fair to this foreign service officer, who had recently experienced any number of policy crises-from Haiti to the Balkans- there was a point to his objection. Why should anyone care about strategy? Strategy, after all, is not politically expedient; it is a long-term focusing instrument that helps shape the future environment. Policy crises, on the other hand, always deal with the more immediate execution of initiatives to address critical needs and requirements. But if an argument could be made in defense of strategy, it would be this: In the absence of strategy, there is no clear direction for the future, and any road will take you there, bumping over crisis and change, and suffering through one knee-jerk reaction after another.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA520379
Entities
People
- P.h. Liotta
- Richmond M. Lloyd
Organizations
- Naval War College