Download or read book Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically written by Lloyd J. Matthews and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of asymmetrical warfare is a popular and much discussed issue in U.S. defense literature these days. Joint Vision 2010 (JV 2010),2 the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR),3 and the National Military Strategy (NMS)4 are just a few of the documents that express concern about it. Understandably, the Secretary of Defense has made addressing the phenomenon a central theme of his administration. All of that said, what exactly is meant by asymmetrical warfare? In broad terms it simply means warfare that seeks to avoid an opponent's strengths; it is an approach that tries to focus whatever may be one side's comparative advantages against its enemy's relative weaknesses.5 In a way, seeking asymmetries is fundamental to all warfighting. But in the modern context, asymmetrical warfare emphasizes what are popularly perceived as unconventional or nontraditional methodologies. For most potential adversaries, attacking the United States asymmetrically is the only warfighting strategy they might reasonably consider for the foreseeable future. The Gulf War was an object lesson to military planners around the globe of the futility of attempting to confront the United States symmetrically, that is, with like forces and orthodox tactics. In this essay I briefly examine how the West's cultural disposition and mindset affect its concept of asymmetrical warfare. I contend that the West's current focus may leave it vulnerable to asymmetrical challenges that arise from opponents whose cultural perspective differs significantly from that of the West.
Download or read book Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically written by Lloyd J Matthews and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2017-09 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of asymmetrical warfare is a popular and much discussed issue in U.S. defense literature these days. Joint Vision 2010 (JV 2010), the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), and the National Military Strategy (NMS) are just a few of the documents that express concern about it. Understandably, the Secretary of Defense has made addressing the phenomenon a central theme of his administration. All of that said, what exactly is meant by asymmetrical warfare? In broad terms it simply means warfare that seeks to avoid an opponent's strengths; it is an approach that tries to focus whatever may be one side's comparative advantages against its enemy's relative weaknesses. In a way, seeking asymmetries is fundamental to all warfighting. But in the modern context, asymmetrical warfare emphasizes what are popularly perceived as unconventional or nontraditional methodologies. For most potential adversaries, attacking the United States asymmetrically is the only warfighting strategy they might reasonably consider for the foreseeable future. The Gulf War was an object lesson to military planners around the globe of the futility of attempting to confront the United States symmetrically, that is, with like forces and orthodox tactics. The U.S. Army War College's Ninth Annual Strategy Conference was held at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The theme of the conference was "Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically: Can America Be Defeated?" There were some 150 attendees, including active duty military personnel as well as members of academe, the U.S. Defense and service departments, think tanks, corporations, and news media. This book is an outgrowth of that conference, though it makes no effort to present a comprehensive and literal record of events in the mold of traditional colloquium "proceedings." Rather, the book is organized as an anthology of selected conference presentations, complemented by sufficient notice of roundtable and question-and-answer discussion to provide a glimpse of the vigorous interplay of ideas evoked by this most timely of topics. Preliminary Observations: Asymmetrical Warfare and the Western Mindset * Part I: Symmetries & Asymmetries - A Historical Perspective * Technology & Asymmetrics in Modern Warfare * The Myth of Blitzkrieg * Asymmetric Response to American Air Supremacy in Vietnam * Part II: Threats * Introduction * Takedown: Targets, Tools, & Technocracy * Information Peacekeeping: The Purest Form of War * Terrorism & Asymmetry * Metaphors & Modern Threats: Biological, Computer, and Cognitive Viruses * Our New Old Enemies * Part III: State-On-State Approaches * Introduction * How We Will Lose the War with Russia: A Critique of U.S. Military Strategy * Regional State Competitors: The Case of Iraq * Beyond Russia and China: A Survey of Threats to U.S. Security From Lesser States * Part IV: Roundtable on Future Responses-Robert H. Scales, Jr., Timothy A. Kinnan, and John Allen Williams
Download or read book Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically Can America Be Defeated written by Lloyd J. Matthews and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Asymmetrical Warfare written by Roger W. Barnett and published by Potomac Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Possible asymmetrical warfare scenarios include launching chemical, biological, or suicide attacks; taking indiscriminate actions against critical infrastructure; using hostages or human shields; deliberately destroying the environment; and targeting noncombatants.".
Download or read book Asymmetric Warfare written by Rod Thornton and published by Polity. This book was released on 2007-02-12 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, the nature of conflict has changed. Through asymmetric warfare radical groups and weak state actors are using unexpected means to deal stunning blows to more powerful opponents in the West. From terrorism to information warfare, the Wests air power, sea power and land power are open to attack from clever, but much weaker, enemies. In this clear and engaging introduction, Rod Thornton unpacks the meaning and significance of asymmetric warfare, in both civilian and military realms, and examines why it has become such an important subject for study. He seeks to provide answers to key questions, such as how weaker opponents apply asymmetric techniques against the Western world, and shows how the Wests military superiority can be seriously undermined by asymmetric threats. The book concludes by looking at the ways in which the US, the state most vulnerable to asymmetric attack, is attempting to cope with some new battlefield realities. This is an indispensable guide to one of the key topics in security studies today.
Download or read book US Army Special Forces Role In Asymmetric Warfare written by Major Heinz P. Dinter Jr. and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. National Security Strategy is the basis of a preventive solution through global engagement, which fosters international interoperability and cooperation to defeat complex asymmetric threats. The study examined how U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) can advance this interoperability and cooperation, and identified three evolving roles; Strike Force, Warrior Diplomats, and Global Scouts. As they transition into the 21st century, the central research question is: will U.S. Army Special Forces need to redefine themselves in terms of mission, doctrine, training, or organization as a result of their evolving roles conditioned by an asymmetric threat environment? The study examined the relevance of core, collateral, and emerging missions. It concluded that basic SF doctrine remains sound, but the changing environment and evolving roles of SF will call for a certain amount of refinement. Tactics, techniques, and procedures will change as new technologies are introduced into SF organizations, but emphasis on the human element remains essential, and SF core competencies and warrior skills must be preserved. The study concluded with recommendations to preserve the relevance and efficiency of SF as the premier mechanism for extending U.S. influence in a world of increased global interaction, required to meet security needs.
Download or read book Nuclear Strategy in the Twenty First Century written by Stephen J. Cimbala and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2000-05-30 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The future of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy in the 21st century is not entirely predictable from the Cold War past. Nor is it easy to foresee on the basis of what has happened since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Cimbala contends that nuclear weapons and the psychology of nuclear deterrence will remain important after 2000, but the character of that importance will change. No longer will nuclear weapons be the dominators of military technology. Instead, advanced technology conventional weapons, based on information and electronics, will supplant nuclear weapons as the instruments of military supremacy in the 21st century. What, Cimbala asks, can be expected of nuclear weapons in the 21st century, given what we have learned from previous experience in the Cold War and in the 1990s? Cimbala expects that nuclear weapons will spread among currently non-nuclear states, and states with regional grievances or hegemonic aspirations will seek to deploy small nuclear forces as deterrents against neighbors or against outside intervention by the United States in regional conflicts. Regional rogue states may also obtain nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, as Cimbala explains, the international balance of power is unlikely to change. As he makes clear, power will be less dependent on deployed military platforms and more dependent on information warfare. A thoughtful and provocative analysis that will be of particular interest to policy makers, scholars, and other researchers involved with arms control, security studies, and international relations.
Download or read book Operationalising Deterrence in the Indo Pacific written by Ashley Townshend and published by United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Pacific Forum. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific, the United States, Australia and their regional allies and partners face a myriad of strategic challenges that cut across every level of the competitive space. Driven by China’s use of multidimensional coercion in pursuit of its aim to displace the United States as the region’s dominant power, a new era of strategic competition is unfolding. At stake is the stability and character of the Indo-Pacific order, hitherto founded on American power and longstanding rules and norms, all of which are increasingly uncertain. The challenges that Beijing poses the region operate over multiple domains and are prosecuted by the Chinese Communist Party through a whole-of-nation strategy. In the grey zone between peace and war, tactics like economic coercion, foreign interference, the use of civil militias and other forms of political warfare have become Beijing’s tools of choice for pursuing incremental shifts to the geostrategic status quo. These efforts are compounded by China’s rapidly growing conventional military power and expanding footprint in the Western Pacific, which is raising the spectre of a limited war that America would find it difficult to deter or win. All of this is taking place under the lengthening shadow of Beijing’s nuclear modernisation and its bid for new competitive advantages in emerging strategic technologies. Strengthening regional deterrence and counter-coercion in light of these challenges will require the United States and Australia — working independently, together and with their likeminded partners — to develop more integrated strategies for the Indo-Pacific region and novel ways to operationalise the alliance in support of deterrence objectives. There is widespread support for this agenda in both Washington and Canberra. As the Trump administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy makes clear, allies provide an “asymmetric advantage” for helping the United States deter aggression and uphold favourable balances of power around the world. Australia’s Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds mirrored this sentiment in a major speech in Washington last November, observing that “deterrence is a joint responsibility for a shared purpose — one that no country, not even the United States, can undertake alone.” Forging greater coordination on deterrence strategy within the US-Australia alliance, however, is no easy task, particularly when this undertaking is focussed on China’s coercive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. Although Canberra and Washington have overlapping strategic objectives, their interests and threat perceptions regarding China are by no means symmetrical. Each has very different capabilities, policy priorities and tolerance for accepting costs and risks. Efforts to operationalise deterrence must therefore proceed incrementally and on the basis of robust alliance dialogue. To advance this process of bilateral strategic policy debate, the United States Studies Centre and Pacific Forum hosted the second round of the Annual Track 1.5 US-Australia Deterrence Dialogue in Washington in November 2019, bringing together US and Australian experts from government and non-government organisations. The theme for this meeting was “Operationalising Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” with a focus on exploring tangible obstacles and opportunities for improving the alliance’s collective capacity to deter coercive changes to the regional order. Both institutions would like to thank the Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program and the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency for their generous support of this engagement. The following analytical summary reflects the authors’ accounts of the dialogue’s proceedings and does not necessarily represent their own views. It endeavours to capture, examine and contextualise a wide range of perspectives and debates from the discussion; but does not purport to offer a comprehensive record. Nothing in the following pages represents the views of the Australian Department of Defence, the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency or any of the other officials or organisations that took part in the dialogue.
Download or read book Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts written by Marc Weller and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2011-10-11 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the world many sovereign states grant one or more of their territories greater autonomy than other areas. This arrangement, known as asymmetric autonomy, has been adopted with greater regularity as a solution to ethnic strife and secessionist struggles in recent decades. As asymmetric autonomy becomes one of the most frequently used conflict resolution methods, examination of the positive and negative consequences of its implementation, as well as its efficacy, is vital. Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts assesses the ability of such power distribution arrangements to resolve violent struggles between central governments and separatist groups. This collection of new case studies from around the world covers a host of important developments, from recentralization in Russia, to "one country, two systems" in China, to constitutional innovation in Iraq. As a whole, these essays examine how well asymmetric autonomy agreements can bring protracted and bloody conflicts to an end, satisfy the demands of both sides, guarantee the physical integrity of a state, and ensure peace and stability. Contributors to this book also analyze the many problems and dilemmas that can arise when autonomous regions are formed. For example, powers may be loosely defined or unrealistically assigned to the state within a state. Redrawn boundaries can create new minorities and make other groups vulnerable to human rights violations. Given the number of limited self-determination systems in place, the essays in this volume present varied evaluations of these political structures. Asymmetric state agreements have the potential to remedy some of humanity's most intractable disputes. In Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts, leading political scientists and diplomatic experts shed new light on the practical consequences of these settlements and offer sophisticated frameworks for understanding this path toward lasting peace.
Download or read book Seeking Shadows In The Sky The Strategy Of Air Guerrilla Warfare written by Major Patricia D. Hoffman and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study analyzes the feasibility of guerrilla warfare as the basis for a strategy of airpower employment for a weak air force confronting an opponent with a stronger air force. The analysis begins with a distillation of the theory of guerrilla warfare into five elements essential to its success: superior intelligence, security, mobility advantage, surprise, and sustainment. The author then compares the ground combat environment of the traditional guerrilla with the airpower environment of the potential air guerrilla and concludes that these five elements can be met in the airpower environment provided the weak force has sufficient ingenuity and the necessary resources. An investigation of recent trends in technology and the prevailing strategic environment indicates that it increasingly possible for a weak force to obtain these resources. The author assesses that air guerrilla warfare is a viable warfighting strategy, but points out that the likelihood of a weak force actually adopting air guerrilla warfare will depend on its regional security needs and its resolve to protract a conflict. The study concludes that air guerrilla warfare is a credible threat to a stronger opponent. To meet this threat, the author recommends that the United States re-examine its intervention strategy, reinforce its policy of strategic engagement, and research both airpower and non-airpower means to neutralize an elusive guerrilla air force.
Download or read book Army written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 1126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Asymmetric Killing written by Neil C. Renic and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-04-29 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an engaging and historically informed account of the moral challenge of radically asymmetric violence -- warfare conducted by one party in the near-complete absence of physical risk, across the full scope of a conflict zone. What role does physical risk and material threat play in the justifications for killing in war? And crucially, is there a point at which battlefield violence becomes so one-directional as to undermine the moral basis for its use? In order to answers these questions, Asymmetric Killing delves into the morally contested terrain of the warrior ethos and Just War Tradition, locating the historical and contemporary role of reciprocal risk within both. This book also engages two historical episodes of battlefield asymmetry, military sniping and manned aerial bombing. Both modes of violence generated an imbalance of risk between opponents so profound as to call into question their permissibility. These now-resolved controversies will then be contrasted with the UAV-exclusive violence of the United States, robotic killing conducted in the absence of a significant military ground presence in conflict theatres such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. As will be revealed, the radical asymmetry of this latter case is distinct, undermining reciprocal risk at the structural level of war. Beyond its more resolvable tension with the warrior ethos, UAV-exclusive violence represents a fundamental challenge to the very coherence of the moral justifications for killing in war.
Download or read book Great Powers Small Wars written by Larisa Deriglazova and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sophisticated appraisal of the problem of asymmetric conflict in the post–World War II period. In a sophisticated combination of quantitative research and two in-depth case studies, Larisa Deriglazova surveys armed conflicts post World War II in which one power is much stronger than the other. She then focuses on the experiences of British decolonization after World War II and the United States in the 2003 Iraq war. Great Powers, Small Wars employs several large databases to identify basic characteristics and variables of wars between enemies of disproportionate power. Case studies examine the economics, domestic politics, and international factors that ultimately shaped military events more than military capacity and strategy.
Download or read book The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism Second Edition written by Gus Martin and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2011-06-15 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Six years after publication of the first edition of the best-selling Encyclopedia of Terrorism, much has changed on the national security scene. Despite the dark promises of Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks, the United States has not experienced any major domestic terror incidents. Al-Qaeda itself is believed to be a severely crippled organization. But while U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq--not to mention the arrival of the Obama administration, a new balance of power within Congress, and an increasingly fragile economic picture--have significantly affected the national security picture, the threat of economic chaos and massive loss of life due to terror attacks has not abated. Indeed, in July 2008 analysts pointed out that even a relatively small terrorist organization could present a dire threat, with some experts arguing that a biological, chemical, or even nuclear attack on a major U.S. city is all but inevitable. In this highly charged, rapidly shifting environment, we are pleased to present the The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition, a thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the original, highly regarded reference work. Nearly 100,000 words of new material will be added, along with fully updated original entries, and expanded coverage. New introductory essays will explore the impact of terrorism on economics, public health, religion, and even pop culture. Ethical issues such as the role of torture in interrogations, competing notions of security versus liberty, and the debates over FISA legislation and Guantanamo Bay will also be covered. Two dozen entries on significant recent events—such as the London bombings, Chechen attacks on Russian interests, and the rescue of Ingrid Bettancourt—and some 60 additional new entries will restore the work as an up-to-the-minute, natural first-stop for researchers.
Download or read book New Challenges New Tools for Defense Decisionmaking written by Stuart E. Johnson and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2003-03-31 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is still easy to underestimate how much the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War?--and then the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?--transformed the task of American foreign and defense policymaking. In place of predictability (if a sometimes terrifying predictability), the world is now very unpredictable. In place of a single overriding threat and benchmark by which all else could be measured, a number of possible threats have arisen, not all of them states. In place of force-on-force engagements, U.S. defense planners have to assume "asymmetric" threats?--ways not to defeat U.S. power but to render it irrelevant. This book frames the challenges for defense policy that the transformed world engenders, and it sketches new tools for dealing with those challenges?--from new techniques in modeling and gaming, to planning based on capabilities rather than threats, to personnel planning and making use of "best practices" from the private sector.
Download or read book Applied Language Learning written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
