Bombing to Win

Bombing to Win PDF Author: Robert A. Pape
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801471508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he argues that the key to success is attacking the enemy's military strategy, not its economy, people, or leaders. Coercive air power can succeed, but not as cheaply as air enthusiasts would like to believe.Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. In this now-classic work of the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps military strategists and policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates.

Bombing to Win

Bombing to Win PDF Author: Robert A. Pape
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801471508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he argues that the key to success is attacking the enemy's military strategy, not its economy, people, or leaders. Coercive air power can succeed, but not as cheaply as air enthusiasts would like to believe.Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. In this now-classic work of the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps military strategists and policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates.

Plotting a True Course

Plotting a True Course PDF Author: William P. Head
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313057214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
Examining wars from the allied victory in World War II to the conflict in Viet Nam, and finally to the operations in the Gulf and Kosovo, this book presents a comprehensive look at the evolution of strategic air attack theory and doctrine over the years.

Attacking Terrorism

Attacking Terrorism PDF Author: Audrey Kurth Cronin
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 9781589012448
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
The definition and understanding of "terrorism" is in a state of unprecedented evolution. No longer are acts of terrorism rare and far-flung. Following the horrendous attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. citizens have had their eyes opened to a new world where this nightmare stalks the daily news and is never far from consciousness. Attacking Terrorism brings together some of the world's finest experts, people who have made the study of this rising menace their life's work, to provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities of the campaign against international terrorism. Part one, "The Nature of Terrorism," provides an overview and foundation for the current campaign, placing it within the political and historical context of previous threats and responses. Part two, "The Responses to Terrorism," looks at the range of policy instruments required in an effective strategy against terrorism. The contributors to this volume bring finely honed analyses and nuanced perspectives to the terrorist realities of the twenty-first century—history, analyses, and perspectives that have been too often oversimplified or myopic. They bring a new depth of understanding and myriad new dimensions to the crisis of terrorism. And they reach into aspects of counterterrorism that broaden our grasp on such important tools as diplomacy, intelligence and counterintelligence, psycho-political means, international law, criminal law enforcement, military force, foreign aid, and homeland security, showing not only how these tools are currently being employed but how often they are being underutilized as well. Attacking Terrorism demonstrates that there are no easy answers—and that the road toward victory will be long and arduous, frightening and dangerous—but as Audrey Kurth Cronin states in her introduction, "As the campaign against international terrorism unfolds, a crucial forward-looking process of strategic reassessment is under way in the United States, and this book is intended to be a part of it."

Strategic Command and Control

Strategic Command and Control PDF Author: Bruce G. Blair
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
After summarizing the assumptions and evaluative methodology behind mainstream strategic theory, the study describes the current decentralized command and control system that, under conditions of surprise attack, could be unable to communicate with decision makers or with units responsible for executing the decisions.

Command Of The Air

Command Of The Air PDF Author: General Giulio Douhet
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782898522
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 620

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Book Description
In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

The Strategy of Conflict

The Strategy of Conflict PDF Author: Thomas C. Schelling
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674840317
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Analyzes the nature of international disagreements and conflict resolution in terms of game theory and non-zero-sum games.

Strategic Attack

Strategic Attack PDF Author: United States. Department of the Air Force
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 35

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Book Description


Strategic Attack

Strategic Attack PDF Author: Jonathan J. Greene
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This paper examines the new definition of strategic attack contained in Air Force Doctrine and seeks to uncover why it remains a fixture in American military operations despite the controversy regarding its efficacy. Since the advent of aircraft, airpower advocates have expounded on the idea of causing an enemy's collapse by circumventing fielded combat forces and directly striking political, economic, and industrial centers of gravity. When put to the test in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, heavy bombers employing strategic attack with conventional weapons seemed to produce mixed results because of poor weapons accuracy, bomber vulnerability, and insufficient targets. Only the use of nuclear weapons appeared to prove the decisiveness of strategic attack. Thus, strategic attack is often associated with nuclear weapons, heavy bomber aircraft, and specific target sets. Moreover, since strategic attack flies in the face of traditional force-on-force warfare, many critics believe that overzealous Airmen attempting to dominate joint operations wildly exaggerate the efficacy of conventional strategic attack. To alleviate these misperceptions, the Air Force completely revised its Doctrine Document 2-1.2 Strategic Attack in September 2003. Using historical case studies, this paper tests the new definition and explains why strategic attack continues to appeal to high-level decision makers and military commanders. This paper asserts that the definition is valid, but could be improved if it excluded standard target sets. Additionally, strategic attack has lasting influence because it can: 1) provide an alternative option when a ground commitment is not feasible, 2) create disproportionate effects to the effort expended, and 3) directly affect enemy will without engaging enemy fielded forces. This paper recommends that strategic attack should be included in Joint Doctrine because it has been used in every conflict since the inception of airpower, will continue to be employed in the future, and is an effective combat option for the Joint Force Commander.

Strategic Attack

Strategic Attack PDF Author: United States United States Air Force
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781508400554
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
War is one of mankind's most complex endeavors. Destroying or incapacitating enemy military forces and attriting them into ineffectiveness is one means, but not the only means, of achieving warfare's objectives. Airmen have always envisioned going directly to the heart of an enemy. Modern air, space, and cyberspace power has come a long way toward realizing this vision. The combination of advanced systems with stealth and precision has made airpower a force to be reckoned with. Commanders now have the capability to directly affect an adversary's strategic center of gravity, helping to accelerate achievement of US national objectives.

Strategy Strikes Back

Strategy Strikes Back PDF Author: Max Brooks
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1640120793
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
The most successful film franchise of all time, Star Wars thrillingly depicts an epic multigenerational conflict fought a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But the Star Wars saga has as much to say about successful strategies and real-life warfare waged in our own time and place. Strategy Strikes Back brings together over thirty of today's top military and strategic experts, including generals, policy advisors, seasoned diplomats, counterinsurgency strategists, science fiction writers, war journalists, and ground‑level military officers, to explain the strategy and the art of war by way of the Star Wars films. Each chapter of Strategy Strikes Back provides a relatable, outside‑the‑box way to simplify and clarify the complexities of modern military conflict. A chapter on the case for planet building on the forest moon of Endor by World War Z author Max Brooks offers a unique way to understand our own sustained engagement in war-ravaged societies such as Afghanistan. Another chapter on the counterinsurgency waged by Darth Vader against the Rebellion sheds light on the logic behind past military incursions in Iraq. Whether using the destruction of Alderaan as a means to explore the political implications of targeting civilians, examining the pivotal decisions made by Yoda and the Jedi Council to differentiate strategic leadership in theory and in practice, or considering the ruthlessness of Imperial leaders to explain the toxicity of top-down leadership in times of war and battle, Strategy Strikes Back gives fans of Star Wars and aspiring military minds alike an inspiring and entertaining means of understanding many facets of modern warfare. It is a book as captivating and enthralling as Star Wars itself.