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Transformation and Strategic Surprise

Authored by Dr. Colin S. Gray.

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+[Transformation] +[Gray] +[warfare] +[politics] +[statecraft] +[culture] +[geopolitics] +[reorganization] +[futures] +[emerging concepts]

Brief Synopsis

The current process of military transformation will enable the Armed Forces to do better what they already do superbly well. It is important to excel at decisive maneuver and in the application of precise, yet overwhelming firepower. But those attributes, though key in warfare against regular enemies, tend to be less valuable in conflict with irregulars. In war after war, the United States has been surprised by the poor political reward it has earned for its military effort. The IT-led transformation will do nothing to help correct the persisting American difficulty in functioning strategically and politically in its conduct of war. The author develops a cumulative seven-point argument.

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Also by the Author/Editor:

Making Strategic Sense of Cyber Power: Why the Sky Is Not Falling
Categorical Confusion? The Strategic Implications of Recognizing Challenges Either as Irregular or Traditional
Hard Power and Soft Power: The Utility of Military Force as an Instrument of Policy in the 21st Century
Schools for Strategy: Teaching Strategy for 21st Century Conflict
After Iraq: The Search for a Sustainable National Security Strategy
The Implications of Preemptive and Preventive War Doctrines: A Reconsideration
Irregular Enemies and the Essence of Strategy: Can the American Way of War Adapt?
Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Warfare: The Sovereignty of Context

View other pubs in the following category:

Military Change and Transformation