Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College

Publications Tagged: war aims

Added April 01, 2005

American Grand Strategy After 9/11: An Assessment. Authored by Dr. Stephen D. Biddle.

Three years after 9-11, some of the most important choices for American grand strategy have yet to be made. Heretofore, the costs of pursuing ambitious but ill-defined goals have been high but tolerable; the Iraqi insurgency, however, is raising the costs to the point where choices must be made. The two natural alternatives, rollback and containment, each have strengths. But they also have real drawbacks--and the choice between them rests on some basic, and inherently subjective, value judgments.

Added December 01, 2003

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism. Authored by Dr. Jeffrey Record.

The author examines three features of the war on terrorism as currently defined and conducted: (1) the administration's postulation of the terrorist threat, (2) the scope and feasibility of U.S. war aims, and (3) the war's political, fiscal, and military sustainability. He believes that the war on terrorism--as opposed to the campaign against al-Qaeda--lacks strategic clarity, embraces unrealistic objectives, and may not be sustainable over the long haul.