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5 - Strategy: How to Think about Fighting for a Limited Political Objective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2019

Donald Stoker
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Summary

It is critical to understand how to use military force to achieve the political aim sought. This requires conducting a rational assessment of the situation, developing a strategy or plan for getting there, and determining the means required for fulfilling the plan and achieving the political aim. Critically, one of the worst failures of previous limited war is thinking that the forces must be “limited” because the political objective is. This is a fallacy. One can use overwhelming force in a war fought for a limited political aim. One should – at the least –

Keywords

strategyRobert OsgoodBernard BrodieLimited WarTotal WarCold WarKorean WarRobert Schellingmilitary theoryDouglas MacArthur
Type
Chapter
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Why America Loses Wars
Limited War and US Strategy from the Korean War to the Present
 , pp. 121 - 171
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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