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Making Strategy : an Introduction to National Security Processes and Problems / by Dennis M

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Making Strategy : an Introduction to National Security Processes and Problems / by Dennis M Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Drew, Dennis M. Making Strategy : An Introduction to National Security Processes and Problems / by Dennis M. Drew, DonaldM. Snow. p. cm "August 1988 ." Includes bibliographies . 1. United States-National security. 2. United States-Military policy. 3. Strategy. I. Snow, DonaldM., 1943- :11. Title. UA23.D691988 88-21065 355' .03 - do 19 CIP ISBN 1-58566-021-3 First Printing August 1988 Second Printing October 1989 Third Printing May 1991 Fourth Printing March 1995 Fifth Printing April 1998 Sixth Printing September 1999 Seventh Printing July 2001 Eighth Printing September 2002 DISCLAIMER This publication was produced in the Department of Defense school environment in the interest of academic freedom and the advancement of national defense-related concepts. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authorsanddo notreflecttheofficial policy or position of the Department of Defense or the United States government. This publication has been reveiwed by security and policy review authorities and is cleared for public release. ii CONTENTS Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . u FOREWORD . ix ABOUT THE AUTHORS . xi PREFACE. xiii INTRODUCTION . xv SECTION I FRAMING THE PROBLEM 1 STRATEGY IN PERSPECTIVE . .. 1 Warfare in the Eighteenth Century . 2 Foundations of Modern Warfare . 5 Contrasts in the Nuclear Age . 8 2 THE STRATEGYPROCESS . 13 Step 1-Determining National Security Objectives . 14 Step 2-Formulating Grand Strategy . 16 Step 3-Developing Military Strategy . 18 Step 4-Designing Operational Strategy . 19 Step 5-Formulating Battlefield Strategy (Tactics) . 20 Influences on the Strategy Process . 21 Continuing the Investigation . 23 Chapter Page SECTION II THE POLITICAL DIMENSION 3 GRAND NATIONAL STRATEGY . 27 Vital National Interests . 27 Instruments of National Power . 36 Summary and Conclusion . 43 4 POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF GRAND STRATEGY . 45 Influences on Grand Strategy . 46 Fundamental Nature . 47 External Objectives . 48 Negative Objectives . 49 Conservative Bias . 51 Technological Nature . 52 Economic Constraints . 55 Strategic Culture . 57 Conclusion . 62 5 GRAND STRATEGY ACTORS AND INSTITUTIONS . 63 Executive Branch . 65 Legislative Branch . 73 Other Actors . 74 Conclusion . 78 Chapter Page SECTION III THE MILITARY DIMENSION 6 MILITARY STRATEGY . 81 Force Employment Strategy . 81 Where Would Forces Be Employed? . 81 Against Whom Would Forces Be Employed? . 83 Force Development Strategy . 85 Force Deployment Strategy . 87 Coordination of Military Strategy . 89 7 OPERATIONAL STRATEGY . 93 Orchestrating Campaigns . 94 Combined Campaigns . 95 Joint Campaigns . 97 Component Campaigns . 101 Essence of Operational Strategy: Orchestrating Theater Campaigns . 102 8 INSURGENT WARFARESTRATEGY . 109 Nature of Insurgent Warfare . 110 Fundamental Differences . 116 Counterinsurgency Concepts . 118 9 NUCLEAR STRATEGY . 121 Dynamics of Nuclear Evolution . 123 Atomic Bomb . 124 Hydrogen Bomb . 125 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile . 126 Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle . 127 Chapter Page Basic Concepts and Relationships . 128 Definition . 128 Relationships between Concepts . 131 Nuclear Stability . 136 Strategy Debate . 138 Conclusion . 145 SECTION IV INFLUENCES ON THE PROCESS 10 FOG, FRICTION, CHANCE, MONEY, POLITICS, AND GADGETS . 149 Clausewitzian Trio . 149 Fog of War . 150 Friction in War . 150 Chance in War . 151 Strategy and the Clausewitzian Trio . 153 Economic Influences on Strategy . 154 Political Influences on Strategy . 156 Impact of Technology on Strategy . 158 11' MILITARY DOCTRINE . 163 What Is Doctrine? . 163 Sources . 164 Development Problems . 165 Types of Doctrine . 167 Fundamental. 168 Environmental . 169 Organizational . 169 Interrelationships . 170 Relationship of Doctrine and Strategy . 171 Chapter Page SECTION V CONTINUING DILEMMAS 12 CONVENTIONAL WAR DILEMMAS . 177 HowMuch Effort? . 177 Getting There versus Being There . 179 Qualityversus Quantity . 181 Expansion and Escalation . 183 13 INSURGENT WARFARE DILEMMAS . 185 How Much Effort? . 185 Deterring and Assisting . 187 Role of an Intervenor . 189 Waging a Counterinsurgent War . 190 14 NUCLEAR ISSUES . 195 Perspective on Nuclear Issues . 195 Current Issues . 199 Offensive Force Modernization . 197 Strategic Defense . 201 Arms Control andArms Reduction . 203 15 INTERESTS, RISK, AND STRATEGY . 205 Vii ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1 The Strategy Process . 23 2 National Interest Matrix . 29 3 Capability/Strategy Relationships . 134 4 Doctrine Tree . 171 5 Viewpoint/Emphasis Matrix . ... 198 viii FOREWORD National security strategy is a vast subject involving a daunting array of interrelated subelements woven in intricate, sometimes vague, and ever-changing patterns . Its processes are often irregular and confusing and are always based on difficult decisions laden with serious risks. In short, it is a subject understood by few and confusing to most. It is, at the same time, a subject of overwhelming importance to the fate of the United States and civilization itself. Col Dennis M. Drew and Dr Donald M. Snow have done a considerable service by drawing together many of the diverse threads of national security strategy into a coherent whole. They consider political and military strategy elements as part of a larger decisionmaking process influenced by economic, technological, cultural, and historical factors. I know of no other recent volume that addresses the entire national security milieu in such a logical manner and yet also manages to address current concerns so thoroughly. It is equally remarkable that they have addressed so many contentious problems in such an evenhanded manner. Although the title suggests that this is an introductory volume-and it is-I am convinced that experienced practitioners in the field ofnational security strategy would benefit greatly from a close examination of this excellent book. SIDNEY 7. WISE Colonel, USAF Commander Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education ix THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ABOUT THE AUTHORS Colonel Dennis M. Drew is the director of the Airpower Research Institute at the Air University Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. A veteran of 23 years service, he has been on extended faculty appointment at Air University since 1978. He is a member of the Section on Military Studies of the International Studies Association and is a fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. He holds a BA from Willamette University, an MS from the University of Wyoming, and an MA from the University of Alabama. Since 1981, Colonel Drew has authored or coauthored four books and numerous book chapters, monographs, and articles dealing with military strategy, air power doctrine, and insurgent warfare. Dr Donald M. Snow is professor of political science and director of the International Studies Program at the University ofAlabama. He is a past chairman of the Section of Military Studies of the International Studies Association and is a fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. He holds a BA and MA from the University of Colorado and a PhD from Indiana University. Dr Snow has published several books and numerous articles on defense and nuclear issues, including Nuclear Strategy in a Dynamic World: American Policy in the 1980s and The Nuclear Future : Toward a Strategy of Uncertainty. XI THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK PREFACE This volume has been seven years in the making. In 1980 the authors began working on a textbook for Air University's Air Command and Staff College that would introduce the concept of strategy and the vagaries of strategymaking to midcareer Air Force officers . The outcome of that effort was Introduction to Strategy, a rather rudimentary volume that, surprisingly, has remained in constant use for the past seven years. The current work is an outgrowth of Introduction to Strategy and it incorporates all that we have learned about writing and organizing an introductory text that examines the most fundamental and yet arcane military art. The authors owe a great debt of gratitude to the outstanding production staff of the Air University Press for their considerable labors in bringing this volume to fruition. We also owe a monumental debt to our editor, John E. Jordan, Jr., whose considerable skill, great insight, and limitless patience have turned onr scrihhlings into a readable text. ,. xiii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK INTRODUCTION This book is about national security strategy : what it is, what its objectives are, what problems it seeks to solve or at least manage, and whatkinds of influences constrain and create opportunities for the development and implementation of strategies. The heart of the problem with which national security strategy deals is the series of military threats that the nation must confront. Thus, the making and implementing of strategy are largely an exercise in risk management and risk reduction. The notion of risk requires definition at the outset. In a more or less traditional manner, risk is defined as the difference between the threats posed to our security by adversaries and potential adversaries and our capabilities to counter those threats. In circumstances where adequate resources (manpower, materiel, perceived will, etc.) are available, risk can be reduced and security increased. When there is a gap between the amount of threat and capability to counter it, the difference is the risk one incurs. In thebest
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