Integrated Coercive Strategies and the Role of the Air Component
Abstract
In the late 19th century, Hans Delbruck described war in terms of annihilation and exhaustion.1 A century later, after the advent of airplanes, access to space, computers, nuclear weapons, computers, and the information revolution, strategists introduced a new paradigm, effects-based operations. This concept suggests a new national objective: control of an enemy. Control is a contemporary, efficient, and humane goal. It stands in stark contrast to the traditional and perhaps dogmatic military objectives of annihilating an enemy's army or engaging in costly wars of attrition.2 Given the current constrained fiscal environment and limited goals as features of the most likely future conflict scenarios, this article provides a simple conceptual lens through which to plan or analyze coercive operations. Keeping the objective of control in mind, it asserts that the military instrument, and particularly joint aerospace power, is a vital tool for coercing enemy decisionmakers. Then it proposes a simple model that leaders and strategists might consider when planning coercive campaigns. This treatment is not a debate over decisiveness or Service roles and missions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA521848
Entities
People
- Merrick E. Krause
Organizations
- National Defense University