January & February 1980 Review
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Naval War College Review Volume 33 Article 28 Number 1 January-February 1980 January & February 1980 Review The .SU . Naval War College Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review Recommended Citation War College, The .SU . Naval (1980) "January & February 1980 Review," Naval War College Review: Vol. 33 : No. 1 , Article 28. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 1 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 2 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 3 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 PRESIDENT'S NOTES It has been interesting to note, in How much can we learn about the need these troubled times, the reemergence for maritime strength from the events of of history as a topical theme in Op Ed the 1930s and the l 940s 7 pieces and articles in any number of The focus at the Naval War College, newspapers and journ�s. particularly in the Strategy and Policy Before coming to the Naval War Course, is not on history as a sterile College, I had heard some criticism of academic discipline but rather on its the curriculum's emphasis on the lessons recurring themes and the problems that of history to the neglect of preparation have continually taxed the genius of for the present. I have found, however, statesmen and soldiers. Similarly, the that a judicious balance has been struck Naval Operations Course, through case between these requisites and I believe studies, emphasizes those enduring prin that the former must nourish the latter. ciples of war that obtain today. In the aftermath of World War II the The recurring themes, illustrated by Harvard Report, General Education in a case studies ranging from the classic Free Society, wisely stated that "One of prototype of Athens and Sparta (which the aims of education is to break the has a great deal of relevance in today's strong hold on the present." world) through the Napoleonic Wars, This is a good time, in the midst of a Stra teqic Theory, a century of Europe bad time, for some careful introspec and the Balance of Power, the lessons of tion. How often have the exigencies of World War I, the Road to War the moment driven us away from the 1919-1941, World War II, the events of broader objectives of the future 7 Or, the Cold War to Contemporary Policy how often have we failed to look back and Strategy, are constants: to see if someone has not indeed been there before7 How far back in history • Military force as an instrument of should we look7 If one wishes, one can national policy: the relationship of walk the cat back over 2000 years to national interests, national policies, war Demosthenes who said: "Courage and aims and military strategies; war as an boldness of speech, unless they have extension of policy by other means; material force at command, lead to peril military force as deterrence. in action." For many of us who have passed the half century mark, however, • Imbalances between political ends our own lifetime can be instructive. and military means, overcommitment https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 4 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 5 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 3 Flexibility, thresholds1 bargaining, negotiated war termination, and associated concepts of our theory of limited central war may rest on premises Jess secure or at least Jess pertinent than actual conditions warrant. This paper argues that the credibility, effectiveness, and attractiveness of low-level strike options is a function of the credibility and effectiveness of the entire strategic targeting design; that strategic targeting must be considered in the context of U.S. defense polfcy as a 1 whole; that ways to deter or thwart an adversary s targetinginitiatives and responses must be comprehended by that defense policy; that there must be strategy in and beyond the SIOP. TARGETING PROBLEMS FOR CENTRAL WAR hy Colin S. Gray Strnlc�y in Omlrnl War? The design he extolled the deterrent merits of a of targeting schema is a strategic task- single Poseidon-carrying SSBN, 2 or that is to say it is an exercise in applied with somewhat greater ambiguity---to strategic thinking. Strategy is supposed Secretary of Defense Harold Brown 's to relate military assets to political Department of Defense Annual Report, purposes. In principle, at least, there can Fiscal Year 1979, where the following be no argument but that strategic judg opinion is signaled: ment should guide sub-SIOP, S!OP, and I am not persuaded that the right post-SIOP targeting plans. In practice way to deal with a major Soviet there is considerable ground for philo damage-limiting program would sophical dispute. One commentator be by imitating it. Our efforts recently expressed the following, fairly would almost certainly be self popular view: defeating1 as would theirs. We can . , , the sheer destructiveness of make certain that we have enough nuclear war has invalidated any warheads -including those held in distinction between winning and reserve-targeted in such a way losing. Thus, it has rendered that the Soviets could have no meaningless the very idea of mili expectation of escaping unaccept tary strategy as the efficient em able damage. ·1 ployment of force ta achieve a As a matter of principle1 as implied 1 state's objectives. above, few if any people would endorse For politically rather more authorita the idea that military force should ever tive expressions of opinion along not be employed for other than clearpoliti dissimilar lines, one need look no cal purposes. Buti at the level of prac� further than to President Carter's State tice, many people-not excluding some https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28of the Union address for 1979, wherein senior officials-have difficulty seeing 6 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 7 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 8 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 9 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 10 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 11 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 12 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 13 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 14 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 15 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 16 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 17 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 18 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 19 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 20 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 21 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 22 War College: January & February 1980 Review Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 1980 23 Naval War College Review, Vol. 33 [1980], No. 1, Art. 28 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol33/iss1/28 24 War College: January & February 1980 Review 22 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Not surprisingly, most discussions and analyses of navies have as their subject the navies of the United States and the Soviet Union or the navies of their allies. Too often overlooked but, for their purposes, no less important are the navies of smaller, nonaligned nations. Sweden is an ideal example for an examination of this latter cJass, THE NAVAL DEFENSE OF SWEDEN IN THE 1980s by John B. Hattendorf The Royal Swedish Navy is of great Sweden and the Nordic Balance. In interest to students of naval affairs as an Scandinavia, the relationship of the vari important example of a small but effec ous nations of the superpowers has been tive navy. However, most naval writers determined on the basis of particular have Concentrated on the problems of national interests. Norway, Denmark, the great powers at sea, and as a result and Iceland have chosen a relationship there is no body of naval writings that with NATO; Finland has a special rela· fully explains for us the functions of tionship with the Soviet Union that has small navies.