Effects-Based Operations: A Critique

Abstract

Effects-based operations (EBO) are a spin-off of network-centric warfare (NCW). Hence, many of its premises are largely unproven, if not outright false. EBO and NCW proponents essentially see war as a business. They do not share the Clausewitzian view of the nature of war and have also embraced a deeply flawed systems approach for assessing situations and identifying centers of gravity. The effects-based approach to warfare is heavily dependent on mathematical methods for predicting and measuring effects. This increasing trend toward using various metrics to assess essentially unquantifiable aspects of warfare only reinforces the unrealistic views of many that warfare is a science rather than both an art and a science. EBO proponents also claim that their concept is based on the tenets of operational warfare. However, EBO is in fact the antithesis of operational thinking and practice. Operational terms are used as ornaments rather than in ways that articulate their true meaning. Worse, various well understood and commonly accepted terms are redefined to emphasize effects in lieu of objectives and tasks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA521851

Entities

People

  • Milan N. Vego

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Center Of Gravity
  • Combat Forces
  • Computer Networks
  • Economic Systems
  • Guidance
  • Human Behavior
  • Information Operations
  • Information Systems
  • Infrastructure
  • Measurement
  • Military Operations
  • Networks
  • Second World War
  • System Of Systems
  • Systems Approach
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design