MILITARY STRATEGY PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Also by John M. Collins Military Geography: For Professionals and the Public Special Operations Forces America's Small Wars Military Space Forces Green Berets, SEALs, and Spetsnaz U.S.-Soviet Military Balance, 1980-1985 U.S. Defense Planning: A Critique U.S.-Soviet Military Balance, 1960-1980 American and Soviet Military Trends Imbalance of Power (with Anthony Cordesman) Grand Strategy: Principles and Practices MILITARY STRATEGY PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES John M. Collins With a Foreword by General Robert C Kingston, USA (Ret.) Potomac Books Washington, D.C. Copyright © 2002 by Potomac Books, Inc. Published in the United States by Potomac Books , Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Maps by Jay Karamales. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, John M., 1921- Military Strategy: Principles, Practices, and Historical Perspectives / John M. Collins; with a foreword by Robert C. Kingston.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes Index. ISBN 1-57488-430-1 (alk. paper) 1. Strategy. I. Title. U162.C643 2002 355'.03—dc21 2001037843 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard. Potomac Books, Inc. 22841 Quicksilver Drive Dulles, Virginia 20166 First Edition 10 98765432 To Successive Commandants of the National War College 1968-73 Lieutenant General John E. Kelly, United States Army, who changed all my life goals as I neared age fifty, when he made me Director of Military Strategy Studies, and Lieutenant General John B. McPherson, United States Air Force, who thereafter directed me to organize and serve as Chief of a politico-military Strategic Research Group. This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures x 5. The Primacy of Policy 47 List of Tables x Basic Policy Attributes 47 List of Maps xi Civil-Military Policies 49 Foreword xiii Foreign vs. Domestic Policies 51 Acknowledgments XV Military vs. Nonmilitary Power 52 Prospectus 1 Strategic Bead-Stringing 53 Key Points 53 1. Overview 3 Strategic Hierarchy 3 Part II Strategic Processes 5 Fundamentals of Military Strategy Strategic Summation 8 6. Strategic Starting Points 59 Part I Strategic Building Blocks 59 The Framework of Military Strategy Strategic Schools of Thought 61 Elemental Alternatives 62 2. National Security Interests 13 Politico-Military Assumptions 64 Basic Attributes 13 Strategic Paths and Pitfalls 65 Universally Valuable Interests 14 Key Points 67 Variably Valuable Interests 16 Conflicts of Interest 18 7. Fundamentals of Deterrence 71 Key Points 18 The Dynamics of Deterrence 71 Causes of Conflict 72 3. Foreign and Domestic Threats 21 Principles of Deterrence 73 The Conflict Spectrum 21 Deterrent Theories and Concepts 75 Strategic Guidance 22 Key Points 77 Enemy Military Power 23 Intelligence Estimates 25 8. War-Fighting Fundamentals 81 Net Assessments 28 Principles of War 81 Threat Assessments 30 Premier War-Fighting Policies 85 Key Points 31 War-Fighting Theories and Concepts 88 4. Basic Security Objectives 35 Conflict Termination 91 National Security Objectives 35 Key Points 93 National Military Aims 36 Military Roles and Missions 39 9. Fundamentals of Military Preparedness 99 Strategic Centers of Gravity 4l Readiness vs. Sustainability 99 Key Points 44 Principles of Preparedness 99 vii CONTENTS Present Preparedness 102 Traditional Deterrence 157 Future Preparedness 106 Traditional War Fighting 159 Key Points 106 Nuclear Warfare Nexus 161 Traditional Warfare Fulcrum 162 10. Fundamentals of Arms Control 109 Key Points 162 Arms Control Aims 109 Quantitative Restrictions 109 15- Insurgency Strategies 167 Qualitative Limitations 113 The Nature of Insurgencies 167 Negotiating Techniques 115 Revolutionary Warfare 168 Compliance Problems 116 Counterrevolutions 173 Key Points 117 Resistance Movements 174 Traditional Warfare Nexus 175 Part III Key Points 177 Specialized Military Strategies 11. Counterproliferation Strategies 123 16. Counterinsurgency Strategies 181 Causes of Proliferation 123 The Nature of Counterinsurgency 181 Intelligence Indicators 126 Anti-Underground Strategies 182 Counterproliferation 127 Counterguerrilla Strategies 186 Current Outlook 130 Pacification Programs 189 Key Points 130 Prescriptions for Success 190 Key Points 190 12. Nuclear Warfare Strategies 133 The Nature of Nuclear Warfare 133 17. Sociopolitical Terrorism 193 Nuclear Arms Control 135 The Nature of Sociopolitical Terrorism 193 Nuclear Deterrent Strategies 136 Atypical Terrorists 193 Nuclear War-Fighting Strategies 140 Typical Terrorist Organizations 194 Nuclear War Termination Strategies 142 Terrorist Tools 194 Key Points 143 Terrorist Targets and Tactics 196 Sponsorship and Support 200 13. Biological and Chemical Warfare Key Points 200 Strategies 145 Biological and Chemical Weapons 145 Biological and Chemical Arms Control 147 18. Counterterrorism Strategies 205 Biological Warfare Strategies 148 The Nature of Counterterrorism 205 Chemical Warfare Strategies 149 Participants and Control 205 Needs for Creative Concepts 151 Overarching Issues 206 Key Points 151 Deterrent Dilemmas 207 Defensive Counterterrorism 208 14. Traditional Forces and Strategies 155 Offensive Counterterrorism 211 Complementary Force Contributions 155 Democratic Constraints 213 Comparative Force Postures 156 Key Points 215 viii CONTENTS 19- Nonlethal Warfare Strategies 219 22. Strategic Stepping-Stones 257 The Nature of Nonlethal Warfare 219 Creative Environments 257 Political Warfare 220 Strategic Education 258 Economic Warfare 222 Strategic Research 260 Technological Warfare 224 Key Points 263 Psychological Warfare 227 Part V Cybernetic Warfare 230 Applied Strategies Key Points 232 23- Balkan Tar-Babies 267 20. Coalition Warfare Strategies 237 Politico-Military Backdrop 267 Collective Security Incentives 237 Peacekeeping in Bosnia 268 Collective Security Choices 238 Peacemaking in Kosovo 275 Compatibility Prospects 239 Strategic Critiques 282 Formal and Informal Coalitions 240 Intervention Checklist 285 Command and Control 242 Key Points 287 Respective Contributions 243 Requirements for Review 244 24. Final Reflections 291 Key Points 245 Part IV Appendix A. Strategic Terminology 293 Keys to Strategic Superiority Appendix B. Abbreviations 309 Appendix C. A Bookshelf for Military 21. Strategic Trailblazers 251 Strategists 311 Illustrative Role Models 251 Coveted Characteristics 253 Index 319 Composite Requirements 254 About the Author 333 Key Points 254 ix